As soon as Landry Shamet entered the court for his pregame exercise on Sunday afternoon at Paycom Center, Suns assistant coach Jarrett Jack greeted him.
Is he present today? Shamet smiled as Jack yelled at him. He's returned.
Shamet played in just 25 games due to a right foot injury, but he still managed to score 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting in Sunday's 124-120 loss to Oklahoma City.
It was satisfying to resume playing, Shamet remarked. "Watching for two months has been a difficult experience. Good feeling. It was satisfying to return to the field, and I look forward to what lies ahead as we near the finish line.
Shamet completed the game on Sunday by playing 20 minutes. His previous game was on January 16 in Memphis.
Coach Monty Williams of the Suns stated, "I thought he was good. It's unfortunate that he has a minute limit. most likely gave him a little more than we had anticipated.
He spread the floor the right amount, so we'll see how he reacts. He is a player we can rely on to play on the ball and go through screens defensively. His return to the lineup was welcome.
Phoenix (38-33) will play the Los Angeles Lakers (35-37) on Wednesday to continue its three-game road trip. Sacramento (43-27) will host the trip's finale on Friday before Phoenix (38-33) returns home on Saturday to play Philadelphia (48-22) in the second of a back-to-back.
The Los Angeles Clippers (38-34) and Dallas Mavericks are two and a half games ahead of the Suns in the West, respectively (36-35).
Each game was won by the Suns. Shamet was not playing at the moment due to a foot ailment. Shamet can defend and make 3-pointers, so Williams may turn to him more often to conclude games now that he's back.
In his 31 games (seven starts) this season, Shamet has averaged 9.5 points while shooting 38.6% from 3-point range, with 67.4% of his shot attempts being 3-pointers.