Torrey Craig was channeling some Aaron Rodgers Thursday before the Bulls played the San Antonio Spurs.
“Usually my body heals pretty fast, so I don’t think that’s an accurate time,” Craig said about an 8-to-10 week recovery estimate for the plantar fascia injury he suffered last week in Miami. “I think I’ll be back earlier than that, but we’ll see.”
How long?
“Two weeks?” Craig said with a wry smile.
“Nah,” he continued, “We’ll see. It’s been feeling better day by day, so I’m just going to recovery and to keep staying with the therapy to make sure I get it as strong as possible and no re-injury.”
It’s a blow for the Bulls in the midst of their best stretch of play since Lonzo Ball was injured, and for Craig, who was having his best game of the season in Miami with four threes and 16 points in 14 minutes in a game the Bulls went on to lose on Jimmy Butler’s buzzer winner.
Craig left the game after suffering what he felt like was actually a tear in his shoe. He left the game to get a new sneaker but found that there was no sneaker damage. Oh oh, it was his right foot.
“My shoe was fine, so I knew it was something with my foot,” Craig sighed.
For the 6-7 Craig, it was the second game in his previous five when he made at least four three pointers. Once a defensive oriented non-shooter, he was shooting 38 percent on threes for the season while averaging 6.1 points. His impact was felt even more as the second most prolific per minute offensive rebounder on the team behind Andre Drummond. Craig’s size and rebounding ability also gave Bulls coach Billy Donovan the luxury of being able to use Patrick Williams more at the wing position he prefers while playing both together. And not having to expose Alex Caruso as much to the physical demands of defending a rugged and stronger power forward and thus being able to match up better with taller front court teams like the Milwaukee Bucks.
“Certainly him going off the floor at that power forward spot we probably have lost some of that size,” said Donovan, “so we will have to make due.”
So will the veteran Craig who has endured so many usual obstacles to reaching the NBA from being undrafted from a small college to a long stint playing in Australia and finally cracking the NBA as a 27-year-old rookie after a Summer League tryout.
Craig parlayed that into a prominent role playing rotation spots with contenders like the Bucks, Nuggets and Suns before signing with the Bulls this summer. His shot making, offensive rebounding and defensive play helped get the Bulls off on this current winning run.
“Definitely sucks,” Craig offered, “and going to take it one day at a time. Being injured sucks no matter what. I’m just happy we are winning games now and you always want to be a part of that. I’m just going to contribute as much as I can. On the bench if I see something that can help win a game if I can give guys advice or motivate them any way I can or use my voice, I am going to do so. I just want to win that bad. That’s what guys on winning teams do. I’m going to voice my opinion and voice my thoughts and be in guys’ ears as much as I can.
“I understand it’s (injury) part of the game,” said Craig. “Injuries happen. No one is going to stay healthy in this league forever. It happened to me and I’m taking it full on and day by day and won’t let it get me down or depressed. At the end of the day, I’m still in the NBA and around a lot of guys I care about. We’re playing at a high level right now, so I’m just trying to contribute as much as I can.”
Craig said he’ll be at the games and hopes to travel with the team.
“I want to be around the guys as much as possible, especially the way we’ve been playing of late to keep this thing going,” he said. “Build in the right direction. I definitely want to be around and be part of that.”
Craig played in the Finals with the Suns, was there when the Nuggets began their run to a title and contributed to the Bucks’ run. He knows winning and success, and likes what he’s seeing from these Bulls.
“It starts with defensive intensity and on the offensive side of the ball, the ball movement,” noticed Craig. “You can see the joy guys are having playing versus earlier in the season when we had tough stretches. We’re slowly figuring it out. We’re still going to lose some games, but it feels better being able to compete at that level and being in these games with these top teams because we’re playing with some of the teams in the league trying to win championships, the Milwaukees, Philadelphias of the world and we are competing and beating these teams. It just tells you the level we can be at when we are locked in and playing together and playing as one.
“I think it was a matter of time seeing the way we were losing games and how stagnant we were offensively,” said Craig. “And now taking advantage of moments in the game when to shoot and when to pass and playing with pace. I just think it’s rubbing off on the whole team and why guys are playing like they are playing and winning some games.”
And another guy anxious to get back and beat the medical predictions. Because it not only looks like fun, but it is.
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