The Suns are already down one big man. Backup big man Dario Saric is out for the rest of the NBA Finals — and much longer — after tearing his ACL in Game 1.
In Saric’s place, coach Monty Williams leaned heavily on veteran Torrey Craig when Deandre Ayton went to the bench, which is more of a small-ball look for Phoenix but one that works for them.
Craig had to leave Game 2 after a knee-to-knee collision with Giannis Antetokounmpo and did not return to the game. The team labeled it a right knee contusion.
Torrey Craig takes a hard charge from Giannis, limps to the locker room.
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) July 9, 2021
Hope it's nothing serious 🙏🏽https://t.co/ysMAugvfIx
Antetokounmpo did come over and check on Craig while he was down on the court.
After the game, there was no official update on Craig’s condition, although he will likely undergo an MRI on Friday. His status for Game 3 on Sunday is unknown. However, he was clearly in a lot of pain as he stayed on the floor for a while before heading back to the locker room.
“Torrey is a tough dude,” Suns coach Monty Williams said in his coach’s interview between the third and fourth quarter. “If he lays down like that, he’s hurting pretty bad.”
If Craig cannot play, expect Williams to lean on Frank Kaminsky for the backup center minutes, with maybe some time for Abdel Nader in small-ball lineups.