One of the most popular trade deadline names Suns Twitter wanted on the team is former player Torrey Craig. Whether the following influenced Phoenix management’s decision or not, it got him back in the Valley.
Back in the 2020-2021 NBA season, the Phoenix Suns initially acquired Craig from the Milwaukee Bucks for cash considerations. His role was to hit occasional spot-up threes and strong rebounding. In his last season with Phoenix, in 32 games he averaged 7.2 points and 4.8 rebounds off the bench in 18 minutes with a career-best 36.9% from deep.
Craig also fits in as a tough and strong defender to face the opposing bigs on the court. Standing at 6-foot-7 as a forward, he is undersized by today’s standards but he plays physical to matchup against the larger players.
One of his top highlights came in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals wherein the fourth quarter the Suns generated a turnover and made a beeline for the basket, Craig catches a lob for a monster dunk to extend the lead to 18 points. Surprisingly enough of all the Suns’ playoff moments, Craig’s dunk generated one of the biggest ovations for the home crowd.
After the playoffs, Phoenix didn’t give Craig a new contract. He didn’t stay jobless for too long as he signed with the Indiana Pacers ahead of the 2021-2022 season.
He didn’t stay in Indiana for too long as the Suns traded 2019 lottery pick forward Jalen Smith and a 2022 second-round pick to bring Craig back to Phoenix on Feb 10 before the NBA trade deadline.
The trade couldn’t have come at a better time with the current injury report growing. Forwards Cameron Johnson suffered a thigh contusion and Jae Crowder had soreness in his groin which led to Craig getting more minutes and eventually the start.
In 17 games in the orange and purple, Craig scores 6.9 points and grabs 5.3 rebounds per game.
Getting integrated into the team, the three-ball didn’t fall as quickly as he wanted. In his first 13 games, he shot 8-43 from beyond the arc. The Craig of old didn’t seem to carry over from the previous season.
However, one bright spot for Craig was his ability to rebound. For his size, being able to grab 5.3 rebounds a game at 21.8 minutes is impressive. His contributions will help Phoenix climb out of 21st for offensive rebounds per game and keep them afloat at eights overall in total rebounds per game.
Craig didn’t shine until he got the start at the power forward position while Johnson and Crowder were out with injury.
Starting the game against the young and dynamic Houston Rockets, Craig excelled on offense scoring 21 points where he shot perfectly at 8-8 from the field, 3-3 from downtown, and a perfect 2-2 from the free-throw line. Grabbing 14 rebounds led him to become the sixth player in NBA history to have at least 20 points and 10 rebounds on 100% shooting from the field and from three. Recording two blocks also didn’t look too bad on his stat line either.
The Suns predictably went on to win that game.
How does one follow up a perfect game in the first start of the season? Post another perfect shooting game.
Facing an Eastern Conference contending Chicago Bulls team, Craig once again made the starting five and remained perfect.
Almost posting another double-double, Craig scored 14 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. He shot 5-5 from the field, 2-2 from three, and made both of his two free throws. He didn’t have any blocks but replaced that with 2 steals for the night in a comfortable Phoenix win.
All season the Suns have flexed their depth with Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton all missing time at one point in the season and still getting wins the night in and night out. Craig is only the latest Sun to step up when called upon.
People shouldn’t keep those expectations of Craig to have consistent perfect 20/10 games but people can expect a hardworking and physical defender who can save possessions on the glass and knockdown occasional threes.
If Craig can do that, the Suns can be even more reliant on a second unit come playoff time.
