PHX Reporter

The Phoenix Suns, resting four starters as they head to the playoffs as the No. 1 overall seed, ended the regular season with a loss to the Sacramento Kings, AZ Central reported.

"We’re just going to try to be as smart as we can and plan accordingly and try to do what’s  best for the team," Suns coach Monty Williams told AZ Central. "We’ll figure out days to play  and try to make sure guys get the level of conditioning they need and  they always talk to us. They’ll tell us the days that they feel like  they need to play more and we’ll extend practice on those days."

The Suns rested Deandre Ayton, Jae Crowder, Chris Paul and Devin Booker for the regular season closer.

The team is now preparing for an attempt to win the first NBA championship in the history of the franchise.

“Get our minds right," Suns guard Landry Shamet said. "Kind of almost taking the necessary separation from it for a second. Be human, like (Coach Monty Williams) talks about sometimes. I mean, we’ve won 64 games; it’s been a long regular season, dealt with a lot of stuff."    

The Suns reached the NBA finals last year, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks after getting ahead 2-0 in the series early on, AZ Central said.

"They’ve been here before and I think that helps us as opposed to last year, I didn’t know what to expect. I hadn’t even won a playoff round in my coaching career, so now at least we have an idea," Williams said.

Kings interim head coach Alvin Gentry said his team played "unselfishly" to defeat the Suns in the last game.

"It’s a nothing game for those guys, but for us, just the idea of being able to play the name, the Phoenix Suns, everyone knows they’re the best team in the league," Gentry said. "They’ve proven that with the way they’ve played and the record that they have. Now, obviously, they didn’t play a lot of their guys but that’s OK. For us, it’s learning, it’s baby steps. We have to continue on that path there and try to get to the point where we have been competitive against these guys."