The Phoenix Suns got a bit of good news on Friday afternoon. According to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, reserve forward Torrey Craig, whose hard-nosed defense and ability to hit perimeter shots off the bench have led to him being a member of the team’s rotation during the playoffs, did not suffer a serious knee injury during Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
Craig, who is slated to get a ring no matter who wins the series due to the fact that he played for the Milwaukee Bucks for the first half of this season, appeared to injury his knee after attempting to draw a charge on Giannis Antetokounmpo. He was helped to the back and did not return.
https://twitter.com/TonyClementsTC/status/1413332058252922880
Fortunately for the Suns, Craig underwent an MRI that showed no structural damage, leading to him being viewed as day-to-day ahead of Sunday’s Game 3.
An MRI on the right knee of Suns F Torrey Craig revealed no structural damage, source tells ESPN. Craig injured knee in Game 2 on Thursday. His status on a return is day to day.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 9, 2021
With Dario Saric suffering a torn ACL in Game 1, Craig would have been an understated but major loss for a thinning Phoenix frontcourt. Instead, Craig being able to take the floor (if his knee is in a good enough place, of course) gives the Suns the ability to throw out small-ball lineups when Deandre Ayton rests instead of relying on backup big Frank Kaminsky, which appeared to by Monty Williams’ preferred hand to play before Craig got hurt.
