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Jay Dieffenbach and Dan Bickley disagree on the NBA MVP and share their thoughts on the D-Backs’ hot start.
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Phoenix Suns’ Dragan Bender talks about the team’s win over the Dallas Mavericks in the last home game of the season, April 9, 2017. (Doug Haller/azcentral sports)
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Suns guard Devin Booker on why the Suns didn’t want Russell Westbrook to get a triple-double on their home floor.
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Thunder guard Russell Westbrook entered Phoenix on pace to average a triple-double for the season.
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Warriors star Stephen Curry talks about Wednesday’s win over the Suns.
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USA TODAY Sports’ Sam Amick discusses the struggles plaguing the defending champions.
USA TODAY Sports
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Suns guard Devin Booker discusses earning respect from officials and his early aggressiveness in a loss to the Clippers on Thursday at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Doug Haller/azcentral sports
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The arguments for and against Rockets star James Harden winning the MVP award.
USA TODAY Sports
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Ball and Fultz are two of the top prospects for the 2017 NBA draft.
USA TODAY Sports
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Suns forward Jared Dudley discusses the Suns’ winless road trip after a loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday. Doug Haller/azcentral sports
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A look at how far NBA players once made it in the NCAA tournament.
USA TODAY Sports
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In the latest NBA Power Rankings, the Warriors are rolling, even without Kevin Durant. Meantime, the Clippers are struggling at the wrong time and the Nets are playing their best hoops of the season.
Time_Sports
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Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker talks about his team’s loss against the Charlotte Hornets, March 26, 2017. (Doug Haller/azcentral sports)
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Suns guard Devin Booker discusses his 70-point game against the Boston Celtics.
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Suns coach Earl Watson discusses his team’s shortage of players and how that is starting to weigh on them after Thursday’s loss to the Nets in Brooklyn. Doug Haller/azcentral sports
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Suns forward Jared Dudley discusses recent team injuries and how that impacts a team resting a few star players, following Tuesday’s loss to the Miami Heat. Doug Haller/azcentral sports
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Dan Bickley and Mark Faller discuss the Indiana job opening, which could pull Steve Alford away from UCLA, and whether the Bruins would pursue Suns’ head coach Earl Watson. Video: azcentral sports
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NBA players who have tallied the most points, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals in a single game this season.
USA TODAY Sports
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In this week’s NBA Power Rankings, Russell Westbrook is leading the Thunder to a strong finish in the regular season.
Time_Sports
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Suns point guard Tyler Ulis reacts to Friday’s home loss to the Magic.
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Kent Somers and Jay Dieffenbach discuss the Suns’ decision to shut down Eric Bledsoe for the season and the possibility of them getting UCLA’s Lonzo Ball? Video: azcentral sports
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USA TODAY Sports’ Sam Amick tells us why the Spurs will be hard-pressed to secure the top seed in the Western Conference.
USA TODAY Sports
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HoopsHype writer Alex Kennedy discusses some of the players who will be free agents this summer.
USA TODAY Sports
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Phoenix Suns center Alan Williams watches his mother, Jeri Williams, sworn in as Phoenix police chief in Chesapeake Energy Arena. (Paul Coro/azcentral sports)
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Hosted by head coach Earl Watson, who says the Suns “embrace and celebrate our youth.” Video: Phoenix Suns
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Shot Clock: NBA MVP and surprising D-Backs
Dragan Bender on Suns win over Mavericks
Booker on Westbrook’s triple-double search: ‘Just didn’t want it to be here’
Russell Westbrook chases history
Stephen Curry on win over Suns
Cavaliers are struggling in a major way
Devin Booker on Suns loss to Clippers
James Harden for MVP: Pros and Cons
Lonzo Ball vs. Markelle Fultz: Tale of the tape
Jared Dudley on Suns loss to Hawks
How far NBA players made it in NCAA tournament
NBA Power Rankings: Warriors surging ahead of playoffs
Devin Booker on Suns’ fall to Hornets
Devin Booker on his 70-point night
Earl Watson after Suns’ loss to Nets
Jared Dudley on Suns’ loss to Heat
Shot Clock: Would Earl Watson leave the Suns if the UCLA job were to open up?
NBA’s best statistical performances so far in 2016-17
NBA Power Rankings: Russell Westbrook continues to carry Thunder
Tyler Ulis on Suns’ loss to Magic
Shot Clock: Eric Bledsoe is out, maybe UCLA’s Lonzo Ball is in?
Why the Spurs desperately need the No. 1 seed
Big-name free agents this summer
Alan Williams watching his mother’s police chief ceremony
Suns ’embrace youth’ in WeArePHX ‘Momentum’ video
THE READ OPTION
This one will be tough.
How are the Suns going to lose to the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night?
It may require something extra from coach Earl Watson. More on that in a moment.
First, what could be more fun than crushing the Lakers?
Perhaps watching the Lakers go on an ill-advised four-game winning streak and crush themselves?
NBA DRAFT LOTTERY ODDS: Where Suns, others could pick
Not only have they surrendered the No. 2 spot to the Suns, their very selection is now in jeopardy.
All the Suns have to do is lose at Sacramento and the wheels start in motion.
We know the die-hard NBA fans are aware of the Lakers’ magical potentially disappearing pick. But there may be fans who haven’t heard the news.
Here’s a reminder about that little LA problem – if only because it’s fun to kick the Lakers in the hubris.
If the Lakers finish with the third-worst record and even ONE team leapfrogs them during the May 16 lottery, their pick goes POOF!
NBA MOCK DRAFTS: Who will Suns take if they pick second?
Because of trades that brought the Lakers Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, that pick is only top-three protected. If it lands at No. 4, the pick is conveyed to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Plenty at stake: If the Lakers finish second-worst in the NBA, they’ll have about a 56 percent chance to keep their pick – somewhere in the top three. That number drops to 47 percent if they can’t catch the Suns.
So, with a third-place finish, the Lakers could see this at the lottery: the Pelicans get lucky and land the top pick and the draft order becomes: Pelicans, Celtics (via Brooklyn), Suns, Sixers.
And Suns fans would laugh and laugh.
Here’s the deep-dive math: If the Suns finish second, they will have 199 sets of four-number combinations, out of 1,000. If they finish third, they will hold 156 combinations.
DRAFT LOTTERY: How the Phoenix Suns have fared through the years
If LA and Phoenix tie, each team would receive 177 combinations, while a coin flip would award the winning team the 178th combination.
Yes, tonight, as the Suns wrap up a difficult season, Watson will have an internal struggle but may “decide” to keep young star Devin Booker from injury and keep him on the bench.
This is no easy task for Watson, who, as Suns fans are acutely aware, plans to win every game he coaches.
The Eric Bledsoe/Tyson Chandler/Brandon Knight “shutdowns”? Watson called those management decisions.
Watson’s winning attitude is refreshing and he really seems like a good fit moving forward. So, if he secures a W on Tuesday night, it’s hard to blame him.
Besides, the red-hot Lakers host the Pelicans and could very well make the Suns’ result moot.
MORE: Where are Suns in NBA power rankings now?
(LA finishes at Golden State, so Suns fans can also hope the Warriors rest their top nine rotation guys. Coach Steve Kerr would be up for that, right?)
Regardless of where the Suns find themselves after the lottery, though, at least they are assured of keeping that pick.
The Lakers? Not so much.
For more from The Heat Index, go to heatindex.azcentral.com.
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