The Suns’ Win Streak Hits 28…

…almost. An interesting factoid in Bill Simmons’ latest column:

In a related story, the Suns are 26-2 in their last 28 games. Here were their two losses:

Dec. 22: They lose to the Wizards in OT (144-139) in a game that Arenas tied with a 3-point play in regulation, then Nash missed a wide-open 3 that could have ended it.

Dec. 28: They lose in Dallas by two (101-99) when Nowitzki made a jumper with 0.1 seconds left.

With two reasonable breaks (Nash making the 3-pointer, Nowitzki missing the jumper), the Suns could be working on a 28-game winning streak right now. I’ve mentioned that to three people over the last 48 hours and all of them said the same thing: “Wait a second … whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat??????”

Truth be told, I’ve been concentrating more on the Mavericks’ 31-4 record since their horrid 1-4 start, and my Cavs’ 8-4 (.667) record against Western Conference teams, which is better than anyone but Milwaukee’s 10-5 (.667) among East teams. While a few teams hover around .500 against the West, only the Cavs and Bucks seem to actually play well against them, which means the Cavs may be the only hope the East has of winning the NBA championship this year.

It’s hard to tell if the Cavs can hold onto the #1 seed in the East, but if they can, they have a legitimate shot at the title. They’re one of the best home teams in the league at 15-3, and have finally started winning on the road as well, winning two of four to date on their 7-game West Coast trip (8-11 on the road overall). With homecourt advantage in the East against a group of teams who all struggle on the road but Detroit (who aren’t dominant at home), they can make it to the Finals. Once there, they’d love to face the Spurs, who they swept the season series from this year.

Better the Spurs than the Mavs or Suns…