Torrey Craig knew something felt wrong in his right foot in Miami, but not two-months-on-the-shelf wrong.
That’s why the injury news Tuesday for the Bulls forward came as such a gut punch.
The team announced that Craig would be out eight to 10 weeks, and Wednesday began the task of picking up the pieces without the key reserve, who is also an important voice on the bench.
“When it’s plantar fasciitis like that and it’s that kind of sprain, those things have always been a little bit tricky, so the rehab part for him is really critical,” coach Billy Donovan said. “You just feel bad that something like this is going to take that amount of time. He certainly worked really hard and you hate to see a guy go out for that kind of duration.
“That injury is just tricky because what happens is you do too much too soon, you can really set yourself back. He’s got to be good and diligent about just following all the protocols because those things can take a little bit of time to heal.”
Donovan’s hope was that while they wouldn’t have Craig on the floor, as long as his rehabilitation schedule works out, the Bulls can keep him as a key leadership voice on the bench.
A small sample size of that came in the win in Philadelphia on Monday, when Donovan thought Craig did a great job not only staying engaged in the game but making sure his teammates did the same.
“I do think his voice is important to the team,” Donovan said. “He’s done a really good job there with that. Even in huddles and timeouts he was engaged in Philly, and we need that from him.”
As far as filling the 21.2 minutes per game that Craig was getting, that might be as tricky as the foot injury.
Youngsters Julian Phillips and Dalen Terry both will be leaned on a bit more, according to Donovan, and it will be based on matchups on any given night.
Against the Lakers, Terry got the early minutes.
“I go with the flow to be honest with you,” Terry said of his new role. “I already knew with the injuries and how everything was going that there would be playing time that could be increased for me, but you just never know. Nothing is ever set in stone, so just try and make the most of what I can with the minutes I get.”
Which means the 6.5 minutes per game Terry was getting was about to get loaded up. Case in point? The 11 minutes he got against the Lakers . . . and that was just in the first half. He played 21 total and had five rebounds and two points.
“I know what to expect now, so you got to be ready for every single game,” Terry said of his mentality in Year 2 compared to his rookie campaign. “Treat every game like you’re going to play 48 minutes. I know when I get out there I’ve got to maximize my time and see if I get more minutes. Just take it brick by brick.”
Scrap it!
One look that Donovan won’t be leaning on with Craig sidelined? The Andre Drummond-Nikola Vucevic grouping in which Vucevic plays a stretch-four position.
Considering they haven’t even practiced it this season, that’s never a good sign.
“I’m fine with those guys offensively just because they’re smart enough and Vooch is certainly a guy that can stretch and play on the perimeter,” Donovan said.
“But the biggest challenge is when you have to find matchups on the defensive side of the floor.”
