If Game 3 was the Derrick White Game, then Game 4 has to be the Torrey Craig Game.
Reserve forward Torrey Craig gave the Denver Nuggets a much-needed spark to propel them to an important Game 4 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, 117-103. None of this would have been possible, though, without Michael Malone's coaching brilliance.
The 47-year old inserted the undrafted 28-year-old swingman into the starting five, replacing struggling forward Will Barton. Following their 117-103 win, Malone explained his reasoning as to why he started Craig in Game 4, per Harrison Wind of BSN Denver:
Per Malone, here’s why Torrey Craig started tonight: First off, he wanted Craig on DeRozan and Harris on White; Denver’s two best perimeter defenders on the Spurs’ top two perimeter players. Secondly, he didn’t want to mess up Beasley’s rhythm and synergy with Morris/Plumlee.
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) April 21, 2019
It was a huge gamble for Malone to start a player that was in the G-League just a year ago. Nevertheless, this proved to be a crucial lineup change that saved the Nuggets' postseason and could potentially alter the series.
Craig finished the night with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including five triples. He also added five rebounds and two steals in 37 minutes of action. More importantly, he was also responsible in successfully keeping Spurs guards DeMar Derozan and Derrick White in check for most of the night.
Derozan scored an efficient 19 points for San Antonio. However, the good news is that Denver limited him to just 13 attempts. White, who had a career night in Game 3, was held to just eight points on eight shots.
Craig entered the NBA as an already solid defensive player. In fact, he won the 2017 Best Defensive Player in his stint with the NBL in Australia. He proved his worth tonight with a massive performance on both ends of the floor.
This match-up should prove to be a great chess match between two top-notch coaches in Michael Malone and Gregg Popovich, as the series now shifts into a virtual best-of-three. Surely, Pop is already thinking about a way to answer Malone's latest move.
Follow Us
Subscribe