The wait is over. Devin Booker will be back in action tonight for the Phoenix Suns after missing the past few games with a hip injury, and the timing couldn't be better. With 22 games left in the season, the team sits No. 7 in the West, two games back from the No. 6 Lakers. Imagine telling someone last summer that this is where Phoenix would be at the beginning of March.
The Suns weren't supposed to even be a play-in team, not in a conference that isn't nearly as scary as everyone thought it'd be. The Grizzlies, Mavericks, Pelicans, Jazz, and Kings are all embracing the tank, whether on purpose or not. At worst, Phoenix will finish as the No. 9 or No. 10 seed, meaning it'd have to win two games to advance to the first round of the playoffs.
Now that Booker (and his 24.9 points per game) is back, the reality of the Suns avoiding the play-in altogether is even more real. Not like last year, either, when they were supposed to be a contender, but came up far short as the No. 11 seed.
Suns can make a push for a top-six seed with Devin Booker
It helps significantly that Phoenix's remaining schedule is on its side, as it's the 23rd-toughest in the league, which isn't all that tough. Their next six games are against teams under .500, making this as good a time as ever for Booker to get back into it.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles has the 21st-toughest remaining schedule in the NBA, but Denver, the No. 5 seed (three games ahead of Phoenix), has the toughest remaining schedule.
The Nuggets have put out an uninspiring product on the floor over the past few weeks, and it took 45 points from Jamal Murray to beat the tanking Jazz by 3 on Monday. They're still without Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson, but the fact that the Suns are as close as they are in the standings to the Nuggets should worry those fans.
What should worry every team in the West trying to secure an automatic playoff berth that isn't the Thunder and Spurs is Booker's return. Phoenix did just okay, and that's putting it too nicely, without him (and Dillon Brooks) over the past week, but its most recent win did come over Los Angeles. It took a last-second three from Royce O'Neale, but hey, a win is a win!
Phoenix is in the thick of the playoff race, and although outsiders have already dubbed this season a win for the Suns, Booker and Co. aren't satisfied. They're not in the contender category yet, but they're a lot closer to getting there than anyone thought possible this time last year.
They're not done yet, either. Last season, that sounded more like a threat, but this season, it's music to fans' ears.