The Phoenix Suns play host to the Boston Celtics at Footprint Center on Friday.

The Celtics (13-13) have been playing much better recently but a back-to-back in Los Angeles put them right back to .500. If getting blown out by the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday wasn't painful enough, they took another loss against the Clippers on Wednesday. That's a tough two-game stretch for anyone, but it's really difficult when you're missing 25 points from Jaylen Brown. With that said, they did have 11 wins in their previous 17 games before that, and a return from Brown could get them right on track. What's also becoming clear is that this is no longer one of the elites in the Eastern Conference, and that surely has Boston fans disappointed.

The Suns (20-4) had their 18-game winning streak snapped earlier this week, but they bounced back by grabbing a win over the San Antonio Spurs in their most recent game on Monday. That means they have 19 wins in their last 20 games, earning them the best record in the NBA. Many people thought their Finals run last season was a fluke, but a run like that has quieted those skeptics. What makes the most recent run even more encouraging is the fact that they're doing it without Devin Booker. The sharpshooting wing is currently dealing with a hamstring issue, but there's no need to rush him back when Chris Paul has his soldiers playing like this.

These teams typically play two-game season series, with these teams splitting each of the last three years. The road team has prevailed in four of those six games.