The Oklahoma City Thunder travel to Arizona to face the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Friday.

The Thunder (29-20) come into this matchup winning six of their last seven games and that emphasizes just how special of a season it been for this team. Many expected them to have a rebuilding season when they sent off Paul George to Los Angeles and Russell Westbrook to Houston but results are extremely encouraging. They replaced those guys with Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander which has proven to be a pretty even move for the most part. That paired with the additions of Dennis Schroder and Danilo Gallinari has made this a dangerous roster and it has them in a great spot for the future. That would make one believe that they'll be a buyer at the trade deadline rather than the seller that most anticipated at the beginning of the year.

The Suns (20-27) own a 9-16 record at home and that's keeping them from being a playoff team. If they just maintained a .500 record at home, they would be just a couple of games back of the Memphis Grizzlies in eighth. Unfortunately, they've dealt with a ton of absences this season but are finally fully healthy. Deandre Ayton is the most important addition, ending his 25-game suspension earlier this month. He's come in and provided the 20 points and 10 rebounds that they expected and it pairs wonderfully with a superstar like Devin Booker. Getting those two to play at an All-Star level is a great pairing with Kelly Oubre Jr and Ricky Rubio. That foursome is plenty good to get them into the postseason and this is certainly a team to look out for over the final few months of the season.

These teams have played once this year, with Oklahoma City winning, 126-108, on December 20. That gives the Thunder seven-straight victories over the Suns in total.