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Barbosa rejoins Suns after visit to ill mother
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The Suns had a good idea Leandro Barbosa would be headed back to the Valley soon when news arrived that his mother's health situation had improved.
Suns notebook: Amaré back on court - with goggles
But no one expected Barbosa to come walking into US Airways Center on Monday morning, less than an hour after completing 13 hours of air travel from Brazil to Phoenix.
A few minutes later, Barbosa was on the court with his teammates, beginning the long catch-up process after missing training camp and the first week of preseason while the Suns were engaged in a radical transformation on both ends of the floor.
Barbosa said his mother, Ivete, is still in the hospital and still not breathing on her own, but there is improvement in her battle against a lung infection that had her in grave condition and forced her son home two weeks ago.
"I was worrying about everything - I was missing time with the team, my mama was sick. I've never been through anything like this in my life," he said, with bloodshot eyes telling the tale of his ordeal. "I know I was there a long time, but it's a family thing. I'm just happy she is doing better and I am happy to be here.
"I appreciate my team, my teammates and all the prayers. Now, I want to concentrate on getting back to work."
Coach Terry Porter said Barbosa is in good condition but will need about a week to get in basketball shape. He also needs time to digest the new plays and defensive concepts. He didn't rule out putting Barbosa into one of this week's two road games - Wednesday at Atlanta and Friday against Denver in Syracuse, N.Y. - for on-the-job training.
"We didn't do a lot of running today, so we'll know more tomorrow," Porter said. "It was nice to have everyone on the floor today, with LB back and Amaré (Stoudemire) practicing. I think he's going to pick up things pretty quickly, but we'll see how comfortable he is with our stuff."
Barbosa did have the niftiest move of the practice - tossing a no-look, between-the-legs pass with his back to Stoudemire when the double team came and left the big man open.
"I hadn't used that one before, but I knew (Stoudemire) was open," he said.
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