BOSTON — In the Celtics blowout win over the Hornets on Friday, Torrey Craig recorded what was perhaps the best 12-minute stint of his young Celtics career. And, he did so with his 10-year-old son, Braylon, at TD Garden for the first time.
Craig scored a single basket — a fastbreak dunk — but finished with a game-high +/- of +20, recording 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals.
And, Joe Mazzulla was so excited to be asked about the veteran’s performance that he interrupted the first postgame question inquiring about it.
“He was sick, man,” Mazzulla said.
Craig has played limited minutes since he arrived in Boston. Still, he told CelticsBlog last month the experience with the defending champs has been everything he expected “and much more.”
“The guys are great, the coaches are great, and it’s a winning culture,” Craig said. “I’m glad to be a part of it.”
For Mazzulla, getting to coach Craig has been a luxury.
“He doesn’t care — he just wants to play,” Mazzulla said. “And I appreciated watching a guy who, regardless of the scoreboard, just plays at the level that he plays at, and constantly works. And he’s been doing it a long time.”
Joe Mazzulla likened Torrey Craig to Blake Griffin after Friday’s win
Mazzulla has credited former Celtic Blake Griffin on numerous for buying into his Stay Ready role during the 2022-23 season, Mazzulla’s first as the Celtics’ head coach.
On Friday, he drew a comparison between Griffin and Craig, recalling a moment where Griffin’s buy-in was particularly evident.
“He [Griffin] came to me during a Stay Ready Group game and asked me what he could do to get better,” Mazzulla recalled, referencing a moment he’s brought up multiple times over the years. “And when Blake asked that question, it said a lot about him, and it said a lot about the environment. And you start to see guys who hang around a long time and why they hang around around a lot — and Torrey’s in that category.”
Craig didn’t play in the game’s first three quarters, but he came into the final period with a ton of energy. Since he signed with the Celtics in February, Craig has appeared in 15 games, averaging 11.3 minutes a night.
A significant portion of those opportunities have come in blowout minutes at the end of games. But, Mazzulla has made clear he values those stints.
“I thought he set the tone, starting the quarter off with a turnover,” he said. “And to me, that means just as much to me as what any of the other guys do — just his professionalism and competitiveness.”
Craig’s son, Braylon, joins Celtics’ family-oriented culture
Braylon spent the game on the Celtics baseline alongside Jayson Tatum’s 7-year-old son Deuce, and the two new friends profusely celebrated each highlight play in the fourth quarter.
Torrey Craig’s son has been having a blast on the baseline tonight
Craig playing some of his best minutes as a Celtic with him in attendance pic.twitter.com/25zrNjnmFf
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) April 12, 2025
“He gets so excited for the games,” Craig told CLNS Media’s Bobby Manning postgame. “He’s as competitive as me.”
After Craig dunked the ball in the fourth, his son looked to celebrate with him, which momentarily slowed Craig from getting back on defense.
“His son almost made us give up a three,” Mazzulla deadpanned at the podium.
“Joe told him next time he does that, that’s 10 push-ups,” Craig said with a smile.
While Braylon was a new addition, he became the latest Celtic kid to make a prominent appearance on the sidelines. Al Horford’s 11-year-old son Ean is a locker room staple, and plenty of other kids, like Jrue Holiday’s kids, frolick by the court pregame.
It’s an environment that Joe Mazzulla has encouraged since he’s become head coach.
“It’s one of the highlights of my small tenure here — the culture that we have about the kids being in the locker room, the kids being on the bench,” he said.
Mazzulla said that Braylon got to address the team pregame. Then, he ran out of the tunnel with the rest of the squad and watched the 36-point demolition from the front row.
“To just have the memories that you’re gonna have, for your son to be around, I think is the most important thing,” Mazzulla said. “I means a lot to me that the guys are willing to bring their kids around, and you get to see the joy of it.”
Mazzulla said it’s important to him that the kids be around so that they get a chance to better understand why their fathers aren’t always available.
“We give up everything for nine, ten months a year,” he said earlier this season. “We miss games, we miss picking them up from school, we miss all the things. You want your kids to be able to go and see, ‘hey, this is why I missed practice today, this is why I missed being at something today.’”
