Phoenix Suns enter their own Mortal Kombat in a brutal 10-game gauntlet
The road ahead is unforgiving but the Suns have no choice but to fight.
Tonight, the battle begins.
When the NBA schedule dropped last summer, we scanned the final stretch with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. Where would the Phoenix Suns stand when they reached the last 12 games of the season? Surely not at 33-37. Oh no, that could never be. If that were to occur we would be on the brink of insan—facepalm.
Here they are, staring down a closing slate that feels less like a finish line and more like a trial by fire. It’s like fighting Goro to get to Shang Tsung, and we’re testing our might to get there.
The schedule-makers showed the Suns as much mercy as a Liu Kang bicycle kick. The season opened with an odd rhythm, an early barrage of Western Conference matchups, many against their own Pacific Division. Four of Phoenix’s first five games came against either the Clippers or Lakers. Simpler times. They were 4-1 then, riding the early-season optimism that has long since eroded like the Pit on Shang Tsung’s Island.
Have I lost you?
Perhaps it’s the nostalgia hitting me. Memories of wandering into John Doe’s Pizza on 40th Street and Indian School asa young teen, pockets full of quarters, ready to lose myself in the flashing chaos of a Mortal Kombat machine. Maybe that’s why I’m laying it on thick. Maybe that’s why this final stretch of the season feels less like basketball and more like stepping into the arcade, knowing I’m down to my last few tokens, hoping to make them count.
Now, the true test arrives for the Suns: a chiseled stone tower of contenders and surging threats, with no breathing room in between.
