How can i write this without using the if statment
<pre><code>def in_puzzle_horizontal(puzzle, word):

    left_right = lr_occurrences(puzzle, word)
    right_left = lr_occurrences((rotate_puzzle(rotate_puzzle(puzzle))), word) 
    total = left_right or right_left

    if total &gt; 0:
        return True
    else: 
        return False
</code></pre>

<pre><code>left_right = lr_occurrences(puzzle, word)
right_left = lr_occurrences((rotate_puzzle(rotate_puzzle(puzzle))), word)
total = left_right or right_left
return total &gt; 0
</code></pre>

python if-statement