Suns face toughest final 10-game stretch in years

The Phoenix Suns have the toughest strength of schedule left in the final leg of the season. But even "toughest" wouldn't do justice to what awaits Frank Vogel's squad over its final 10 games. 

Just consider that the average record of Phoenix's final opponents is 0.645. 

Each of their last 10 opponents – Nuggets, Thunder, Pelicans (2x), Cavaliers, Timberwolves (2x), Clippers (2x) and Kings – has a better record than them.

To make matters worse, none of those teams are expected to sit out their star players – typically the norm at the back end of the season when coaches try to prioritize health for the playoffs. Since no team has decisively clinched a playoff seeding, it wouldn't behoove them to sit out players and potentially fall into a play-in scenario – the fourth and eighth seeds are separated by 2.5 games. Even the top three seeds are separated by just 1.5 games. The stage is set for a frantic scramble out West to close the season.

The Suns are up against it and former Mavericks player Tim Legler has zero confidence in Kevin Durant & Co. to overcome the odds.

"They are adrift at sea, they are lost right now," Legler said of the Suns on "Get Up" on ESPN. "The fact that they're having losses that are this ugly and concerning at this time of the year — massive concern right now."

The Suns face the toughest final 10-game regular-season stretch since the 2015-16 Grizzlies, who had to endure the 73-win Warriors and 67-win Spurs twice in their final 10 games. They went 1-9. 

By the end of its brutal 10-game stretch, Phoenix could either come away a legitimate title contender or a ninth seed in a single-game elimination scenario.