Can the Phoenix Suns parlay their perfect 5-0 start to seeding games into an improbable trip to the playoffs?
Phoenix entered the restart 13th in the Western Conference and needing to pass four teams just to reach the NBA's play-in matchup. With Saturday's win over the Miami Heat, the Suns moved ahead of both the New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs -- by percentage points in the latter case -- for 10th, with the ninth-place Portland Trail Blazers just a half-game better.
Once again, I've used the multiyear version of ESPN's real plus-minus (RPM) to simulate the remaining seeding games 1,000 times. How often do the Suns reach the play-in?
Let's take a look at what to expect going forward in the West play-in race.