With his team's season on the line, Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone needed to make some changes. Malone boldly inserted reserve forward Torrey Craig into the starting lineup, replacing struggling forward Will Barton, in Game 4 of their first round series match-up against the San Antonio Spurs.
The former G-League standout proved to his coach that he made the right call by sparking Denver to a much-needed Game 4 victory to level up the series, 2-2. In fact, Craig actually saved his best for last, leading the Nuggets in four statistical categories in the fourth quarter of Game 4, per Chris Dempsey of Nuggets.com.
Torrey Craig's 4th quarter:
6 points – led #Nuggets
5 rebounds – led Nuggets
1 block, 1 steal – led Nuggets— Chris Dempsey (@chrisadempsey) April 21, 2019
Malone reportedly made the lineup change so that Craig can switch onto Spurs All-Star forward DeMar Derozan, while Gary Harris shifted his focus to Derrick White, who had a magnificent career night in Game 3.
The adjustment from Malone proved to be crucial, as Craig was instrumental in Denver's Game 4 victory. The two-way forward finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, two steals, and a block. He also shot 6-of-9 from the field, and made five three-pointers in 37 minutes.
More importantly, they were also able to limit White, who scored 36 points in the previous game, to just eight points on 3-of-8 shooting in Game 4.
It seemed like Malone really had to dig deep in pulling off the lineup change. Craig had only seen 29 total minutes through three games in the series. He played 37 last night and contributed in a major way, especially in the fourth quarter.
With the way he proved his worth in Game 4, it looks like the undrafted 28-year old out of USC Upstate will continue to stick in Denver's starting five for the rest of the series.
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