The Phoenix Suns head into their April 4, 2025, matchup against the Boston Celtics with a record of 35-40 and all the energy of a team that’s teetering on the edge of postseason irrelevance. What was supposed to be a season of promise has unraveled into a grind marked by inconsistency, injuries, and underachievement. After acquiring veteran talent in the offseason to complement their franchise cornerstone Devin Booker, the Suns were expected to contend in the Western Conference. Instead, they’ve spent most of the year stuck in the play-in race, oscillating between streaky wins and soul-crushing losses. And now, they face one of the league’s most dangerous teams on the road—a scenario that has rarely ended well for them. Phoenix’s biggest challenge this season has been cohesion, or more precisely, the lack of it. Lineup changes, questionable rotations, and inconsistent bench play have plagued head coach Frank Vogel’s efforts to establish rhythm. While Booker has been reliable, averaging over 25 points per game, his offensive brilliance has too often gone unsupported. Injuries to key players have further compounded the issue. When everyone’s available, the Suns have shown flashes of competence, even brilliance. But those moments have been fleeting—brief highlights in a season mostly defined by frustration. Their 29-41-1 ATS record speaks to this unreliability. Bettors can’t trust them, coaches can’t trust the bench, and fans can’t trust the scoreboard to look decent at the end of the night.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Suns are heavily dependent on isolation plays and mid-range shots—an approach that can look fantastic when Booker or other scorers get hot but becomes a slog when the defense tightens up. Against a team like Boston, which switches well, clogs lanes, and closes out on shooters with machine-like discipline, that kind of offense often crumbles. Phoenix doesn’t move the ball as well as it should, and their assist numbers reflect a team that frequently settles for tough looks instead of creating easy ones. Their scoring efficiency tanks when they face high-level defenses, which doesn’t bode well against the Celtics, one of the stingiest units in the league. Turnovers, long scoring droughts, and defensive breakdowns have become familiar storylines, especially on the road. Defensively, Phoenix has taken a step back this year. Despite Vogel’s defensive pedigree, the Suns rank near the bottom of the league in key metrics like opponent field goal percentage and defensive rating. Their lack of interior presence and slow rotations on the perimeter leave them exposed against teams with elite wing scorers—of which Boston has more than one. If they fail to close out shooters or contain drives to the rim, they could find themselves in a double-digit hole before the second quarter ends. The key for Phoenix will be defensive energy and shot-making from role players, particularly from deep. That’s a big “if,” but it’s their only chance to stay competitive. In short, the Suns come into Boston as underdogs in every sense of the word. With their season slipping through their fingers, a surprise win against an elite Celtics team could serve as a wake-up call—or at least a brief moment of redemption. But with their road form being what it is, even keeping it close would be considered progress. For Phoenix, this isn’t just another game—it’s a gut-check against a team that doesn’t make life easy for anyone.