The Suns are getting close. Can you sense it?

With five wins in their last seven games, the Phoenix Suns are currently enjoying their best stretch in two years.

They are beating the teams they are supposed to beat (those who are truly talent-less bottom feeders), while sneaking out the occasional win against teams who have a lot of talent but who Phoenix matches up well with at the moment (most recently Minnesota).

Fans cannot deny the balance that Isaiah Canaan brings to the offense. A truly competent, veteran point guard, who knows how to score, but who also knows how to run a balanced offense – and get out of the way of Devin Booker. There is also no doubt that Tyler Ulis has taken a step forward since Canaan’s acquisition, slowly looking like the fearless, exciting, and more than viable point guard who finished up the 2016-17 season as the team’s starter.

Although still not near the top of the league, since December 13th, the day they acquired Canaan, the Suns are 16th in the league in assists at exactly 22 a game, up from 29th in the league on the season prior to that day.

On New Year’s Eve in Phoenix Jay Triano has a chance to do something that Earl Watson never did: win three games in a row, something that every other head coach in franchise history has accomplished save for Watson and Triano.

That game, against the Philadelphia 76ers, is definitely winnable for the surging Suns, leading to a perspective that many Suns fans have long feared this season: the Phoenix Suns are NOT   tanking.

Sure, as mentioned before, they are beating teams who they are supposed to beat, feeding on the bottom feeders, nowhere near the class of the league. But that’s the difference between this season and last. The Suns have taken a step up in the NBA’s version of the evolutionary food chain and as of now are pulling themselves out of the #LoseForLuka et al., sweepstakes.

For those Suns fans who want the team to lose (tank) for one more year, fear not. There is still plenty of season left and they will lose more games than they win – barring a major, unforeseen, trade for a star. They still have plenty of games against the class of the league, with at least 27 games against current playoff teams.

Sitting only 3.5 games out of last place in the league, the Suns still have plenty of time to falter and fall and by losing a few of the games against the very bottom feeders they are currently feeding off of due to off nights, injuries, etc., they could sneak right back into the top-5 of the lottery in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, they currently sit just 5 games out of the 8th seed of the Western Conference playoffs, with a real and sincere chance to slowly claw their way into that race with only a slightly better than .500 record the rest of the way. Not only can this be accomplished through continued gelling and understanding of Jay Triano’s offensive and defensive schemes, but also through the aforementioned unforeseen trade, one that could be for a star dealing with a nasty divorce with their current team.

This all places the Suns in a current limbo, of sorts, where it is absolutely visible to the naked eye that this roster is getting better and better every game potentially pulling themselves out of range for a top draft pick, yet they are still not near enough to the best teams in the league to be guaranteed a playoff spot this season either.

There is still way too much of the season remaining to know exactly how the Suns will end up. Whether they have a top spot in the lottery or are near the back end, only a few games out of the playoffs – and a first round sweep at the hands of the Golden State Warriors – either way, Suns fans can sense it. They can sense that this team is getting better, growing and improving right before our eyes, and exciting game in and game out.

While the playoffs still seem unlikely, Valley of the Suns will track where Phoenix is in the playoff hunt from here on out following every game because, truly, you never know.

Win or lose, the outcome is becoming more and more exciting as the season moves along. This team is not only fun and exciting to watch, but with Devin Booker and T.J. Warren, they are on the verge of once again being must see sports TV.

Next: The Five Most Important Suns Stats So Far This Season

Whether they #PLayLikeTrashForTrae, or remain in the #RaceFor8 chase, they are making every game worth watching, even if that currently places them in a position in the league that does not guarantee a particular price at the end of the calendar.