Paul Coro

azcentral sports

T.J. Warren is soft-spoken enough that he could handle it if he lost his voice for a spell.

Take away his skateboard as a kid and he would have been fine with a basketball.

But when the Suns small forward fractured his right foot in January, Warren went through the most trying absence of his life – more than eight months without a basketball game.

That ends Monday night when the Suns open the preseason at home against San Antonio.

RELATED: Scrimmage tie ends happy, balanced Suns camp

It is the payoff for months of rehabilitating in a pool or on an anti-gravity treadmill before he could resume running in June. It is the end goal of finding ways to improve when the only basketball in his life was watching video or taking shots from his scooter or in a walking boot.

“That’s the hardest thing I’ve had to go through from a basketball perspective,” Warren said. “I’ve never even had surgery before. It’s a blessing that I’m back.”

The timing of last season's injury could not have been worse for his career growth because his role surely would have expanded with Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight also requiring season-ending surgeries.

MORE: Suns rookies dance in costume at scrimmage

The timing of his return for this season could not be much better. Less than three weeks ago, Warren was cleared for five-on-five play on the same day that fellow small forward P.J. Tucker underwent back surgery.

That could mean an early-season starting opportunity for Warren, the roster’s only conventional small forward. Devin Booker, Dragan Bender and Jared Dudley also could be used there.

“I could’ve really done a lot of great things (last season),” Warren said. “It was good to see Devin (Booker) break out and do his thing.

“This season, I expect to be myself, be the scorer I am and be aggressive when I’m out there. Just be that two-way player they (coaches) want me to be and that I know I can be ... Offense comes really easy to me so I’m not really worried about that. I just want to focus on defense to make sure I’m getting through ball screens and being vocal.”

Warren has 87 appearances in two seasons because his rookie status held him back in 2014-15 and the foot injury sidelined him for the last 34 games of last season.

His game still progressed, going from averaging 6.1 points and 2.1 rebounds in 15.4 minutes per game as a rookie to 11.0 points and 3.1 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per game last season. He added 3-point range, making 28 of 70 attempts (40 percent).

“T.J. has made progress on offense and defense,” Suns coach Earl Watson said. “T.J.’s growing. We have a lot of young guys who are becoming men.”

Warren, 23, is still getting his rhythm and conditioning back but he is stronger in his upper body for having the rehabilitation time.

RELATED: Alex Len maturing out of unstable Suns years

He also said he is now 6 feet 9.

“I feel taller when I’m around Tyson (Chandler), Alex (Len) and (Dragan) Bender,” Warren said of his 7-foot teammates. “I just feel like I’m eye to eye with those guys.”

Warren scored 14 in Saturday’s intrasquad scrimmage, showing his wide-ranging “Tony Buckets” offense with off-ball cuts, fast-break finishes, floaters and offensive follows. His unorthodox, unpredictable scoring ability was shown when he picked up a loose ball and made a 14-footer off his right foot while getting fouled.

“I can’t stop talking about him,” Bledsoe said. “He looks great out there.”

Those nighttime gym visits no longer will be relegated to tedious form shooting work. On Monday night, he has a game with no inhibitions about the foot he fractured in late January.

GET THE SUNS APP: iPhone | Android

“I don’t think about it at all,” Warren said. “At first, when I was doing two-on-two and three-on-three a month ago, it used to be on my mind a lot. I got out of that habit. Now, I’m not even thinking about it, especially when I’m playing. It’s real strong so I’m good to go.”

Reach Paul Coro at paul.coro@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-2470. Follow him attwitter.com/paulcoro.

Monday's game

Suns vs. Spurs

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Radio/web: KTAR-FM 98.7; live stream on Suns.com and Suns app. No TV.