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Phew!
One game after forward Dario Saric was lost for the NBA Finals — and possibly for all of next season too — the Phoenix Suns got some good news on Friday that swing forward Torrey Craig suffered only a bone bruise and no structural damage in his right knee.
Here’s the big account reporting...
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
And here’s our friend and Suns insider Flex with his own info, reported just a few minutes after Woj.
Torrey Craig has what I'm told is a Bone Contusion on the inner knee. MRI is clean and the Suns are optimistic he'll be available for Sundays game with the extra day's rest. We might have dodged a bullet on this one. Very optimistic news from my contacts!
— FLEX From Jersey (@FlexFromJersey) July 9, 2021
Craig suffered the injury during Game 2 of the NBA Finals when he took a charge on a drive by two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Craig is one of the players coach Monty Williams hoped could take a couple of minutes a game playing Dario’s backup center role.
Torrey Craig went back to the locker room after this play. Did not appear to be putting much pressure on his leg pic.twitter.com/MKrcQuxSva
— Trevor Booth (@TrevorMBooth) July 9, 2021
Craig did not get up from that collision, and was helped off the court by a trainer on one side and teammate Deandre Ayton on the other side. He barely touched down with the injured leg, so we feared the worst.
Thankfully, the injury is ‘only’ a bone bruise. He is day-to-day and likely to return at some point in the NBA Finals if it gets dicey for the Suns against the Bucks size at some point.
Even better news for Torrey is that he will be completely healthy for the off season, where he’s hoping his elevated play for the Suns will earn him a multi-year contract in free agency from a team that values his constant activity and effort.