The Phoenix Suns went 4-1 over their last five games, though that wasn’t impressive enough to boost them up the world of NBA power rankings this week.

Or even mantain their spot.

The Suns’ lone loss came on the second night of a back to back against the Toronto Raptors on Friday, though that was clearly enough to see other teams across the NBA landscape leapfrog Phoenix:

NBA.com: 13th (down two spots)

John Schuhmann: “The Suns won four straight games and had a 10-point lead with a little more than eight minutes left in Toronto on Friday. But the streak came to an end, because (playing with a rest disadvantage) they couldn’t get the stops they needed over those final eight minutes.

“The Suns still have three games left on their six-game trip, and their visit to Boston on Monday is the start of their second (and final) stretch of five games in seven days. They’ll be at a rest disadvantage the following night in Minnesota and against the Raptors (for the second time in 10 days) over the weekend.”

Our take: We’ve previously touched on how difficult this stretch will be for the Suns, mostly due to the teams above them in the Western Conference playoff picture. That’s fair, but dropping Phoenix down multiple spots with one loss last week is… an interesting move, especially when one of said teams above them is Toronto.

The Athletic: 15th (down one spot)

Law Murray: “The Suns haven’t made excuses this season. They have continued to stay in the hunt for a top-six seed by, you know, winning games. Phoenix is 7-4 since Dillon Brooks injured his hand, including the game in which he was hurt. Mark Williams has been out, which opened the door for Maluach to get some minutes. But Maluach’s playing time decreased all week. He’s very much a project. Fleming has started to take Ryan Dunn’s minutes as a backup power forward, and he has made 53.3 percent of his 3s over the last 10 games. Brea is on a two-way contract and has played 23 minutes all season. Huntley was waived from a two-way contract in November, but he is back on a two-way contract to finish the season.”

Our take: Murray’s evaluation of the Suns’ rookies isn’t anything to write home about, though we can’t say it’s inaccurate. Maluach has always been viewed as a project dating back to his prior draft evaluations while the rise of Fleming has been eye-catching. There’s hope that continues marching into the end of the regular season.