Regardless of what happens during Saturday's Game 3 matinee out in Phoenix, history shows that this 0-2 Suns team is already doomed in this series against the OKC Thunder.
Throughout Oklahoma City's 18 years of existence, they've found themselves going up 2-0 in a best-of-seven playoff matchup on eight separate occasions.
They have never lost a series when boasting such a record.
In fact, when looking at the league as a whole, statistics show that a team that takes a two-game edge to open up a postseason series generally tends to advance to the next round roughly 93 percent of the time.
Needless to say, regardelss of how this upcoming matchup ultimately turns out, based on historical trends, it seems more than likely that this quarterfinals is already Oklahoma City's for the taking.
Jalen Williams injury not enough to slow down this Thunder team
Even with the unfortunate injury update on Jalen Williams' hamstring, the expectation is still that the Thunder will handily manage to extend their 2-0 streak to nine.
Not only this, but many, such as former NBA forward-turned-analyst Chandler Parsons, are still tabbing OKC as the odds-on favorites to take home this year's Larry O'Brien Trophy with or without him in the fold.
The main reason for this, outside of the fact that they're the reigning champs already, is that their depth is elite enough to make up for the All-Star's absence moving forward.
As noted by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander following the forward's Game 2 hamstring strain, the Thunder have "played with so many lineups" due to widespread injuries this season, and they already have a familiarity with how best to succeed with a next man up mentality.
From Isaiah Joe's scorched-earth scoring abilities and Isaiah Hartenstein's under-the-radar passing to Alex Caruso's two-way productivity, coach Mark Daigneault has a bevy of highly reliable players he can lean on to make up for J-Dub's missing on-court attributes.
With this, it should come as no surprise that Oklahoma City managed to go 39-10 in the 49 games they played with Williams sidelined due to injuries this past regular season.
Though Shai and company are well aware that Dub is someone they're going to need if they want to better their odds of reaching "the mountaintop" and, in turn, become the first repeat champion since the 2018 Warriors, until he's medically cleared to make his way back to the hardwood, the Thunder clearly have the personnel necessary to at the very least stay afloat.
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