Torrey Craig could be dynamic fit for the Phoenix Suns

Jae Crowder is not the only wing player the Phoenix Suns have added in the last six months who got significant minutes in the conference finals last season.

His style might not be flashy or blow up in a box score, but Torrey Craig has had an impact on successful teams in the past and it would be no surprise if he does so again this year for the Suns.

Even though he was traded for only cash, the Phoenix Suns move to acquire Torrey Craig might be a money one come playoff time.

In his short time with the Phoenix Suns, Craig has already displayed many of the traits that have kept him on the court for the biggest games in the past. It starts on the defensive end, Craig is a specialist in terms of his ability to guard bigger guards on the perimeter, while also having the size, strength, and length to make life difficult on some bigger wings.

On the offensive end Craig struggles in some areas, after all, there is a reason he was essentially given up on by the Bucks, the biggest being his shooting. He is a career 32.5% 3-point shooter on just over two attempts per game, not numbers that allow most wing players who don’t dribble to see the court.

Fortunately for Craig and the Suns, he does not need to be relied on much at that end outside of cutting and some corner shooting. This is similar to the role the Nuggets had for him in the playoffs last season where, over the team’s final two series, he never took more than six shots in a game, but continued to see significant playing time with at least 15 minutes in nine of the twelve games.

One of the biggest differences between Craig and some other wings on the Suns roster, like Cam Johnson and Abdel Nader, is that Craig does not need his shot to be falling in order to be an impactful player. If Johnson is not hitting his 3s, and Nader is wild and inefficient on his drives neither have the defensive capabilities of Craig to at least produce on one end. If the shot is going down for Craig then he goes from playable to hard to take off the court.

Not to get too carried away, Craig is obviously not a perfect player but because of his defensive abilities, he is the type of bench player who will keep his minutes in the playoffs rather than lose them, something that is important to think about for the Suns this year. This is why, like we have already seen versus the Hornets, I would not be surprised to see Craig on the court for a significant stretch of a close playoff game this year.

The terrific thing about the move to acquire Torrey Craig is that even if all you got was one solid performance down the stretch of a close playoff game it would be worth it! While it might not make sense considering what it took to acquire him, now that he is on the team it would not be surprising to see Craig continue to find time on the floor for as long as the Phoenix Suns are playing basketball.