Editor's note: Each week during the NBA regular season, Dr. Jack Ramsay makes a house call with an ailing team.

This week's team: Phoenix Suns.

The Symptoms
If the NBA playoffs were to start today, the basketball world knows that the champion Lakers would not be in them. But if you haven't been following Phoenix's rising Suns (14-11), you might not notice that they would be the fifth seed in the Western Conference. Surprise, surprise!

	Stephon Marbury, left, will keep the Suns in the running for a playoff spot.

The Suns don't score a lot of points -- 88.8 per game (26th-best in the NBA), but neither do their opponents (89.8 per game, seventh-best in the league). They are the fourth-worst team in field-goal percentage (.415), but are 11th best in field-goal defense (.428).

Phoenix has two 20-point scorers -- Shawn Marion and Stephon Marbury. Small forward Marion flies up and down the court, is a great finisher on the break, is the team's leading rebounder (10 per game) and has developed a nice touch from the edges. Marbury is tough to stop at the point -- he's quick and elusive, can get a shot anytime he wants, but gives the ball up when he spots an open teammate (eight assists per game against 3.5 turnovers).

The loss of Tom Gugliotta, who's out for six weeks with a stress fracture in his right foot, has hastened the development of powerful, 6-foot-10 rookie forward Amare Stoudemire -- who has raised his points and rebounds averages to over 10 and eight a game, respectively. Energetic Bo Outlaw and Scott Williams are the backups at big forward, and 6-11 Dan Langhi also sees some action there. Coach Frank Johnson uses the Two Jakes -- Tsakalidis and Voskuhl -- in the middle, and while not big scorers, they hold their own defensively and complete high-percentage opportunities around the hoop.

Penny Hardaway starts with Marbury in the backcourt and averages about 11 points and 4 assists a game. He is backed up by Joe Johnson or good-looking rookie Casey Jacobsen.

The Diagnosis
Their roster doesn't look like it should be in the playoff hunt, but the Suns are there and have no intention of backing out. They have quickness, size and depth. Their solid defense keeps them in games; then Marbury and Marion -- Phoenix's M and M boys -- are good enough to make the big plays a team needs to win the close ones.

Coach Johnson uses a zone defense for some part of almost every game, and he has had good results with it. He varies his lineup and sometimes plays three forwards -- without either of the Two Jakes. The Suns are at their best on the run, but with Marbury controlling the ball, they're also a handful in half-court sets.

	Rookie Amare Stoudemire, right, has given Phoenix a physical presence in the middle.

Phoenix defends well and is a strong rebounding team (fourth in total rebounds). A team that defends well, controls the boards and makes plays down the stretch is tough to beat. That seems to describe the Suns, who started the season hovering around the .500 mark, then came together on a recent five-game road trip. After losing at Memphis and New Jersey, Phoenix gained confidence with consecutive wins at Boston, Philadelphia and Atlanta last week before coming home to beat Orlando on Monday.

The Cure
The question is -- can the Suns hold a position among the top eight teams in the West? I say yes. They must continue to keep opponents under control with their defense and limit teams' fastbreak opportunities. With the floor balance it maintains on offense and its rebounding strength, Phoenix should be able to do just that.

The Suns need to improve their field-goal shooting accuracy. Fastbreaks help a lot in this regard. The more they run, the higher their shooting percentage will be. Then in their halfcourt offense, they must exercise greater patience in shot selection.

If the Suns can maintain the quality of their defense and improve their ability to score, they are certain to be a playoff team. I like the way they play. Frank Johnson appears to have everybody on the same page and "in the game." Johnson has an excellent staff of assistants -- Mike D'Antoni, Marc Iavaroni, Tim Grgurich and Phil Weber. They are all top-level teachers and provide plenty of in-game bench support for Johnson.

I must say that the future looks bright for the Phoenix Suns.

Dr. Jack Ramsay, who is an NBA analyst for ESPN, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.