Craig perfectly steps up for the Suns
Torrey Craig has been the Suns' "simple" solution filling the missing links in Cam Johnson's and Jae Crowder's 3point shooting and rebounding over the past week.
But Craig's efficiency has been more complex than simple while Johnson and Crowder have been out with injuries. Johnson (quad) is listed as out again for Sunday's game at Sacramento, while Crowder (groin) is listed as questionable.
Craig is producing 14.2 points, shooting 76.7%, eight rebounds, one block, and a positive 14 plus-minus and about seven more minutes played than his season average during Phoenix's four-game win streak, which began against the Los Angeles Lakers at home last Sunday.
Since Craig returned to Phoenix in a trade with the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 10, his averages in those categories are 7.0 points, hitting 45.2% of his field goals including 29.6% from the beyond the arc, five rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 blocks and a 2.8 plus-minus through 21.2 minutes per game.
His statistics have risen as a starter replacing Crowder since Houston, having hit 13 consecutive field goals. That consists of eight made and three from deep at the Rockets on Wednesday, five shots made and two 3s in Phoenix's 129-102 rout of Chicago on Friday.
Craig reached a milestone in those two starts. His 21 points and 14 rebounds against Houston, then his 14 points with nine rebounds against Chicago made Craig the first NBA player to reach 30 points, 20 rebounds and hit 100% of at least five 3s in a two-game span, according to Stathead. He also added three assists and two blocks against the Rockets, as well as two assists and two steals against the Bulls.
HIs rebounding also has been a factor. Craig attributes his rebounding contributions to his 6-foot-7, 221-pound frame and eagle-like wingspan that nearly measures 7-feet. He said his strength and length have given him an advantage over smaller players in the paint since he was in high school.
“It’s mostly just effort and a little bit of timing," Craig said. "I think it’s huge for us because we got a lot of guys on this team who can do it as well, like Mikal (Bridges) and JaVale (McGee) and D.A. (Ayton), guys like that who get us extra possessions. Those are huge in games and it’s kind of like a confidence killer for the other team as well, so I’m just gonna try to continue to do that.”
Suns coach Monty Williams said after the Suns-Bulls game that he had advised Craig soon after he was reacquired by the team to balance out his shot selection.
Craig has shot 3.4 shots per contest from the 3 since he's been back in Phoenix compared to 2.7 with Indiana.
“The way our team is set up, guys understand their roles. What we’ve told Torrey is to be balanced in what he’s doing," Williams said. "I thought when we first got him he was jacking up a lot of threes, and we just told him you gotta mix up your balance a little bit, and I think that’s helping him."
Williams wants Craig to play his game as a slasher attacking the rim off the dribble like he did last season, and get offensive boards to extend their possessions.
"He’s been really efficient and we needs guys to play that way for those moments when teams try to take Chris and Book out, we want guys to be comfortable and know that they can score and be free to score that way," Williams said. "It’s just gonna make us an even tougher team. And then when Chris and the guys start to come back, we don’t want anybody to change. We want those guys to play the same way.”