Suns' Bol Bol Slowly - But Surely - Making Case for More Playing Time

The Phoenix Suns could have a secret weapon on their hands.

PHOENIX -- Phoenix Suns fans have cheered at every possibility to get Bol Bol on the floor at Footprint Center. 

Suns coach Frank Vogel has joked about the loud cheers in the arena when Bol makes his way to the scorers table. Bol's flashed some good - and bad - during his time on the court, though the noise calling for more playing time might be getting too loud to ignore. 

Phoenix dropped their second consecutive game coming out of the All-Star break in Friday's loss to the Houston Rockets, though Bol was a shining light in an otherwise dark effort from a Suns squad that was without Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic due to injury. 

"He was great, there's no other way to put it," Vogel said following the loss. Bol tallied 25 points and 14 rebounds coming off the bench.

"We're trying to find the right environments where he can thrive and put him in positions to succeed in certain matchups. ... He came in and took advantage of those minutes."

"He was great. There's no other way to put it. We're trying to find the right environments."

Frank Vogel on Bol Bol, who had 25 and 14 in loss.

On taking Bol out late: "He was going to have a heart attack. He was out of gas. I didn't want to take him out. He was rolling." #Suns https://t.co/kgBu2EXmsi pic.twitter.com/Tnmc26lgrk

— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) February 24, 2024

"So happy for him. Wish we could've gotten the win for him and celebrated with him in the locker room after such a big game," said Kevin Durant on Bol's big night. Bol was utilized in a few different fashions, but most notably in a small-ball lineup with him at center and Durant next to him at power forward.

"He had big games before. This one was different: coming off the bench. Making shots, keeping us in the game with his shot-making, a couple and-one's that kept us alive, he was incredible for us. I'm so happy he's getting more opportunity to play and he's having success."

The Suns are back in action on Sunday when the Los Angeles Lakers visit town. 

Bol's 27 minutes last game was the most he's seen all season. He's only eclipsed the 20-minute mark one other time this year. 

Injury woes or not for Phoenix, Bol is making the case to be a figure in Vogel's rotation when the postseason rolls around.