Game Preview: The Suns are playing for their lives while the Warriors are playing for position

The Suns stayed loyal and got ghosted while the Warriors made a bold move.

Who: Phoenix Suns (35-43) vs. Golden State Warriors (46-32)

When: 7:00pm Arizona Time

Where: PHX Arena — Phoenix, Arizona

Watch: Arizona’s Family 3TV / Arizona’s Family Sports

Listen: KMVP 98.7

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It might feel a little awkward Tuesday night in downtown Phoenix as Golden State rolls in with Jimmy Butler in tow. It’s the NBA’s version of a romantic near-miss. The one that got away, right in your building, wearing different colors.

Think of it like this: you hear through the grapevine that someone’s crushing on you hard. She’s all-in, willing to risk it all. But you’re committed, clinging to a promise like it’s a Broadway love ballad. Like a pledge to Condrad Biridie, you remain loyal, courteous, steadfast, and true.

Time passes. She moves on. You stay where you are. Through good days and bad, through late-night fights and hollow smiles. Then one night, you’re out at dinner, and she walks in with her new guy. And for a brief moment, you lock eyes and ask yourself the question that always lingers: what if? You’ll never know the answer, but the ache of curiosity never really leaves.

Since Jimmy Butler landed in Golden State, the Warriors have flipped the switch. A middling 10th seed at the time of the trade on February 7, they now strut into Phoenix as the sixth seed. They were 25–26 when they made the move. Since then? 21–6. A team reborn.

The Suns, meanwhile? Still circling the runway. Since the deadline, they’re 9–18. No momentum, no ignition, just a slow fade into irrelevance.

Oh, and that girlfriend you choose to stay loyal to? She ends up standing you up on this long-awaited date. Couldn’t make it. Why? Rolled her ankle. Life’s funny like that. You skip out on something bold and new, only to get ghosted by what you stayed loyal to.

Probable Starters

Injury Report

Suns

• Kevin Durant — OUT (Left Ankle)
• Nick Richards — PROBABLE (Right Elbow Soreness)

Warriors

• Gary Payton, II — AVAILABLE (Bilateral Nasal Bone Fracture)

Uniform Matchup

What to Watch For

This game could very well be the death rattle for the Phoenix Suns. If there’s any hope of squeaking into the Play-In Tournament, the climb has to start now. Because the margin for error? Gone. The Suns trail the Mavericks by 2.5 games with only four to play.

But the Warriors? They’re fighting their own battle. Currently the sixth seed, they’re neck-and-neck with the Clippers, Grizzlies, and Timberwolves — all sitting at 46-32 — desperately clawing to stay above the Play-In line that Phoenix is gasping to reach.

So what’s left in the Suns’ arsenal? What cards does Mike Budenholzer still have hidden in his deck? Tonight could be the last real chance to throw the kitchen sink at an opponent. But what does that even look like when the plumbing has been broken for months?

This season has felt like playing Tetris blindfolded, with blocks falling fast, no rhythm, no flow, and always waiting for that perfect vertical piece to drop and save the day. Only now, the screen is full, the board is busted, and the miracle piece isn’t coming.

Key to a Suns Win

Play physical, but play smart.

That’s the blueprint when you face the Golden State Warriors, especially when Draymond Green is in the building. The man’s a masterclass in controlled chaos. He toes the line like it’s a tightrope, baiting contact, talking just enough trash to throw you off, and somehow never tipping into ejection territory.

He’s not going to beat the Suns with his scoring — though don’t be surprised if he hits a three and mean mugs the bench — but with his physicality, his rebounding, his mind games, and his ability to get under the skin of Phoenix’s bigs.

If the Suns want this win, it starts with composure. Ball security is non-negotiable. Knock down shots. And whatever you do, don’t take the bait. Draymond’s coming with the chicken. Don’t peck.

Prediction

Without Kevin Durant, the Suns are a lighter with no spark. They’ve gone 2–14 in the 16 games he’s missed this season, and the common thread is clear: they just can’t score.

Devin Booker can don the cape and play Batman all he wants, but without a reliable Robin, the Joker keeps walking away with the win. And in 2024–25, the joke’s been on us.

Warriors 112, Suns 103

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