There aren’t any Russell Westbrooks in the NBL, Australia and New Zealand’s National Basketball League where Torrey Craig cut his teeth for three seasons before arriving in Denver two summers ago. Still, Craig has never looked overmatched against the former league MVP in any of the five games that the Thunder and Nuggets have played against one another since the 6-foot-6 defensive-minded forward out of the University of South Carolina Upstate became a fixture in Denver’s rotation midway through last season.
Craig has been the Nuggets’ primary defender on Westbrook in Denver and Oklahoma City’s two matchups this year and has more than held his own against the Thunder point guard. Craig helped limit Westbrook to 16 points on 6-23 shooting (1-12 from three) in a 105-98 Nuggets victory back on Nov. 24 and just 13 points on 5-15 shooting in a 109-89 Denver win a month later. According to Second Spectrum tracking data, Westbrook is shooting 5-24 this season when Craig is his primary defender.
With an opportunity to clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker against Oklahoma City Tuesday evening in a nationally televised Northwest Division showdown, Craig should once again play a large role in Denver’s defensive gameplan.
“It’s always exciting going up against a talent like that, you get up for games like that,” Craig said of Westbrook Tuesday morning while wearing a bright blue Brisbane Bullets T-shirt, representing one of the clubs he played for in Australia. “I take a lot of pride in playing defense, so of course I will be up and ready for opponents like him and Paul George tonight. They’re playing at a very high level. Their team’s doing great, third in the West. It should be a pretty good matchup.”
Because of his past success against Westbrook, Craig will likely re-enter Michael Malone’s rotation against the Thunder after spending two games as one of the odd men out of Denver’s preferred nine- or 10-player lineup. Craig recorded a DNP-CD last week in Dallas, and in the Nuggets’ 123-96 win over the Clippers Sunday he played sparingly, recording just eight minutes of action in the blowout win.
But his services will be needed with Oklahoma City, who currently occupies the third seed in the Western Conference and trails Denver by three games, in town. The Thunder is coming off a 119-116 loss to Sacramento but has still won seven of its last 10.
Craig, who at 6-foot-6 is rangier than Westbrook, has used his length to his advantage in both matchups with the Thunder this year. His strategy is simple: stay between Westbrook and the basket, use his strength to his advantage and if he does get beat, try to recover in time to turn Westbrook away at the rim. Craig has recorded three blocks across two matchups with Oklahoma City this year and shown the ability to stay disciplined when guarding Westbrook.
“Being physical, being strong and not letting him just bully you and overpower you like he does a lot of the point guards that try to guard him,” Craig said of the keys to defending Westbrook. “I definitely try to use my physicality when guarding him. I think I have an advantage in that aspect.
“He’s so explosive and so fast, you kind of have to pick your spots, and then sometimes he’s still going to get around you because he’s just that good of a player. It’s a tough challenge, but we’ve had success against him before. I expect nothing other than that tonight.”
For all of his success against Westbrook this season, Craig doesn’t expect to start on Tuesday. The Nuggets will likely stick with the same starting lineup that they have for the past few games with Jamal Murray and Malik Beasley in their backcourt alongside Will Barton, Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic.
Beasley could be first up to defend Westbrook, and Barton will likely start on MVP candidate Paul George, who’s averaging 28.7 points on 45.1 percent shooting from the field and 40.3 percent from three, 8.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. Craig has been in Beasley’s ear in the lead-up to tonight’s matchup, stressing to the Nuggets’ young shooting guard not to let the Thunder and Westbrook get early transition opportunities and find a first-quarter rhythm.
Gary Harris, who is expected to come off the Nuggets’ bench again in his third game back from an adductor strain, will also guard Westbrook and could shadow George from time to time. Harris played well in 22 minutes Sunday against the Clippers and helped Denver hold L.A. to just 96 points on 34.5 percent shooting.
“It’s not just one guy. It’s going to take all five. It’s going to take a consistent effort,” Harris said. “We’re all going to have to be on a string. We have to talk to each other, and if we communicate, we’ve been playing some great defense. We’ve just got to keep it up.”
