Is this the moment for Isaiah Thomas with the Phoenix Suns?

The Phoenix Suns have reached the final stretch of a long and winding regular season, and they find themselves in danger of slipping into a play-in tournament battle. Every time it looks like this group has figured things out, they take a major step back and throw away a game to an inferior opponent.

The latest setback occurring in the loss to the San Antonio Spurs - who were without their star player Victor Wembanyama - as part of their current five game road trip. The defeat was made even worse by the fact Bradley Beal sprained his finger late in the game, in a moment that Beal himself described as "hurt like hell".

The hope is that Beal will be able to play through the sprain and not miss any time, but has this opened the door for Isaiah Thomas to get some playing time?

Thomas was recently signed by the organization to a 10-day contract, and has appeared in garbage time just once. With the Suns having three games remaining on their current Western spin, Thomas' contract will expire by the time they get home. That is unless they hand him another 10-day, or else sign him for the remainder of the season.

Quite why they would want to do this is unclear - the Suns have more urgent needs elsewhere on the court - but Thomas is on this roster, so they front office clearly think he is able to provide this group with someting. Head coach Frank Vogel recently told the media that Thomas was only with the team to provide some depth, saying;

"He's here for depth. When we're at full strength, he won't be in the rotation. So if we stay at full strength he may not come on the floor for us in his 10 days. He's someone that we trust, we value his game and if we have injuries/foul trouble to Book or Brad in particular, then we got to look at the point guard depth and he comes into play at that point."

Frank Vogel on Isaiah Thomas

That last line is telling however, because an injury to Beal - as has so often been the case this season - is exactly what has happened here. It could not have come at a worse time either, as the idea of Beal being the primary ball-handler, as opposed to Devin Booker, was picking up momentum and had shown some promising early returns.

With the Suns having a lack of depth at the point guard position, Thomas is surely in line to get more minutes if Beal is out for any length of time. This finger sprain may just have thrown the NBA career of Thomas a lifeline as well, as it now makes sense to at least bring him back again on another 10-day deal.

Thomas wouldn't start for the Suns - Royce O'Neale would seem the most obvious choice - but he now has a chance at playing 10 minutes off the bench and acting as the floor general that the second unit needs when Booker goes to the bench for a break. Coach Vogel will begin to shorten his rotation soon, which means Booker is going to play a lot of minutes anyway.

But with Thomas seemingly "filling it up" in practice - and the Suns having been plagued by turnover issues all season - it makes sense for him to get one final opportunity in the league. To be able to help a team with ambitions of winning a championship surely makes it all the sweeter for Thomas, and fans will no doubt be on his side if he is given some extended run if Beal is forced to miss some time.