Torrey Craig brings 'a lot of juice' in sixth-man role for Phoenix Suns

The Suns have the NBA's longest current winning streak despite a recent trend of allowing commanding leads to dwindle in the third quarter.

On Tuesday, following their 21-point win over San Antonio, Suns coach Monty Williams said Torrey Craig had the "juice" they needed off their bench to help boost their third straight underwhelming third-quarter performance.

Craig was the Suns' most efficient player, pouring in 15 points (7-of-9 shooting, 1-of-3 from deep), 10 rebounds, three assists, one steal and just one turnover in 25 minutes. That resulted in a 28 plus-minus, the highest among all players.

“I thought Torrey, his energy and effort tonight, bailed us out of it, to have a double-double, in the way he played, the defense he played, I thought he gave us a lot of juice and I thought Ish (Wainright) was also in that; he didn’t score, but the defense and the attitude and the intensity that those two brought helped us when we were kind of reeling for some juice tonight,'' Williams said.

The Suns shot blazing hot early in their 21-point blowout win over San Antonio as their Big Four (Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Deandre Ayton) combined for 55 of their 69 points in the first half.

Phoenix went from shooting 62.5% and 5-of-10 from deep in the opening period to 50% and 1-of-7 from the 3 in the second for an 18-point halftime lead. That tapered off in the third as they only scored 28 and let the lead get to single digits and shooting a paltry 33.3% and 12.5% from beyond the arc in the fourth for just 18 points against the undermanned Spurs, who had just nine players available.

The same thing happened against the West's top team Denver Nuggets, which didn't have four of its top players including two-time MVP Nikola Jokic last Friday. At Oklahoma City on Sunday, the Suns had a 20-point lead at one point befoer the half, which fell as low as five-points in the third.

“I feel like our last three or four third quarters have been pretty slow, slow starts. Out there playing with leads, definitely feeling that this time as well," Craig said after Tuesday's game. "I just wanted to come into the game and try to bring a spark. I know they had cut it to single digits, we still had a little momentum, but I just wanted to create some energy. Get us going and get the lead back up.”

Craig was everywhere against the Spurs in the second half, flying around the court winning 50/50 balls and making hustle plays, extending offensive possessions (four offensive total rebounds). Within the third quarter's final minutes, Craig also caught an alley-oop assisted by Wainright, and stripped Sandro Mamukelashvili then finished with a breakaway two-fisted dunk that got the crowd pumped to cap off the Suns' 15-0 run.

“We didn’t really key on anybody except probably Kevin and Book. But Torrey did have a great, competitive night," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said to The Republic in the postgame. "He was very aggressive on the board, going to the rim, he did a good job. In the playoffs, there’s always somebody off the bench that makes a contribution in a game that wins you’re a playoff game here and there. So the bench will be important for them.”

Chris Paul's comment about Craig's Tuesday performance aligned with Popovich's take.

"It’s huge. The more possessions that we can get with our offensive firepower, the better. We’re gonna need that, especially in the playoffs.”

Craig has adjusted well back in his sixth man role, after starting in 59 of his 76 appearances this season, in Kevin Durant's return from injury the past four games.

Craig replaced their former starting four-man Cameron Johnson for 37 games from October through January while Johnson was injured. He then added length in the starting lineup with Mikal Bridges as a starter before Bridges and Johnson were traded to Brooklyn for Kevin Durant, T.J. Warren and four future first-round draft picks and a 2028 pick swap in early February.

That fifth starting role with the Suns' Big Four has gone to Josh Okogie, but Craig is happy doing whatever he needs to do for the team.

“It is all just part of being a pro. I am just blessed to be in this league," the six-year South Carolina Upstate veteran said. "To be on a team like this, I will take any role I can get. I am not into all that, I don’t look at it that way. I just look at it as a me coming here to work and doing a job, sometimes that job requires you to play five minutes, or 30 minutes, or not play at all. Either way I am just blessed to be in this position, and I don’t take it for granted.”

That includes being a human bruise sacrificing himself on hustle plays in which he gets hurt nearly every game. Craig said that he broke his nose three times in 2021.

Williams gave credit to Craig’s mental stability adjusting well back to his original role coming off the bench, having to be the Suns' Swiss Army knife and one of their top defenders, and starting when necessary.

“Just about every guy coming off the bench has had to make adjustments, but I don’t know if anybody’s made more than Torrey," Williams said. "He came into this season not knowing he was gonna start. He started most of the year, and then he ends up coming off the bench and nothing’s changed for him except the minutes.

"But he’s made an adjustment. He was an offensive rebound guy, spot-up shooter, and then on the defensive end he’s guarded the toughest guy. Now, he’s coming off the bench and he’s still bringing the same effort but his role is different.”

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Torrey Craig resurgent in sixth man role for Phoenix Suns