3 Teams the Phoenix Suns Could Upset in 2012 Playoffs
The Phoenix Suns have been a very inconsistent team this year. They have gone through both hot spells and cold streaks, but they are a team with some serious upset potential.
Steve Nash always brings his best in the playoffs, and if the Suns make it, they could potentially shock the world and knock one of these teams out of contention.
San Antonio Spurs
Before you get out your pitchforks, I just want to remind all of you one more time that I am talking about upsets here.
The Spurs have been a great team this year and are within striking distance of the number one seed in the West.
Considering the Suns are fighting for the eighth seed, this is a very likely match-up. The Suns and Spurs have been rivals for quiet some time now, and the series should have some heated games.
Steve Nash will play his heart out and the rest of the team will follow.
Just two years ago the Suns swept the Spurs in the playoffs, and last year the Spurs were beat by an underrated Grizzlies team.
This series will not be an easy one as I am sure Tim Duncan and Manu know their window of opportunity will not be open for much longer.
They had two meetings in the regular season and while both were won by the Spurs they needed some amazing games from Tim Duncan to get there.
An upset that's not as unlikely as it may seem at a glance.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Suns are 2-2 against the Lakers this season, and it will be very interesting to see just what happens in the playoffs.
In their most recent meeting, the absence of Kobe Bryant lead the way for the Suns winning the game by 20 while playing their bench for a large portion of the game.
If Kobe is hurt and is either not 100 percent, or is unable to play, the Suns could easily steal this series away from LA.
However, even with Bryant, the Lakers are not perfect against the Suns and in an earlier meeting allowed Bryant to score 32 points while forcing him to commit 10 turnovers.
Bryant does not like the Suns, and in the playoffs he will not be holding back and no doubt trying to embarrass the Suns like he did in their first meeting of the season.
With that said, Kobe does not have the best health record, and he is not getting any younger. It is also fair to mention that this will be the first playoff series Bryant has played without Phil Jackson.
How big of a factor that plays is unknown, but the Suns have proven that they can take down the Lakers and might prove it again when it really counts.
Los Angeles Clippers
Yes, two LA teams that can both be taken down by the Suns.
The Suns have beaten the Clippers two times out of three this season, but the Clippers are by no means an easy match-up.
Talent is not their problem, but they still have some problems when it comes to executing their game plan (assuming Del Negro has one) and they definitely need more time to gel.
Thanks to a shortened season, the Suns just might upset the Clippers considering that the team has not had a long enough time to come together.
The Miami Heat took a whole season last year to look like a unit and there were still some chinks in their armor.
I am not saying the Clippers are the Heat, but the idea holds true: a team that sees a fast growth of talent needs time to really absorb and successfully convert that talent into wins.
The Clippers added top point guard Chris Paul this year as well as scorer Nick Young and defensive presence Kenyon Martin.
Nick Young has only played 15 games with the team, while Kenyon Martin has been in just over 30.
When the playoffs come, the inexperience this unit has will be exposed, and the Suns have a chance to be the team that exploits it.
Overall, the Suns need to first make the playoffs before worrying about what team they face, but if they do make it, maybe they can make some headlines.
Thank you for reading and tell me what you think in the comments!
