"There is nothing left for Suns guard Leandro Barbosa to do but play.

He has gone through every form of rehabilitation. He practiced three times this week, increasing his workload and seeing his first five-on-five, full-court action Thursday. He has done extra training and more shooting at night at the arena with relatives.

That set up Barbosa for his first game action since he sprained his left ankle Nov. 29 at Toronto, when he scored 17 points to help the Suns win and move to 14-3. Since then, Phoenix is 4-8.

"I'm excited," Barbosa said. "I wanted to come back as soon as possible, but I just want to make sure everything's healthy so that I can come back for good and do what I like to do: run up and down and help my teammates."

Coach Alvin Gentry said he still will use Goran Dragic at off guard some, as he has been doing to ease him into the game before he takes over at point guard for Steve Nash. Barbosa's availability can reduce workloads on Grant Hill and Jared Dudley. Gentry said Dudley plays so hard that the increased playing time might have caused him to "run out of gas."

"I think LB will help us a lot," Nash said. "He gives us depth. He makes our bench stronger. He's also one of the few players on our team that really beats people off the dribble and can break down the defense. We knew he was an explosive scorer, but we lack guys who can penetrate.""