With the Golden State Warriors facing multiple injury concerns over the past two months, they've had to rely on some unheralded players to give them minutes. LJ Cryer is one such player, and he's quietly proving that he belongs in the NBA with his recent production.
Cryer has now played in three games and has done quite well. He hit some huge shots in a homecoming performance against the Houston Rockets, scoring 12 points in an overtime victory that may have been the upset of the year for the Warriors.
LJ Cryer quickly showing the Warriors he belongs in the NBA
He followed that up with some solid minutes in a loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, and scored 11 points in Monday's defeat to the Utah Jazz where he again proved one of the few bright spots offensively.
Head coach Steve Kerr is clearly taking notice of Cryer's play, subsequently giving him playing time over Pat Spencer, one of the better stories of the year for the Warriors, against Utah.
Things change very quickly in the NBA and if Cryer has a few bad games, he may not see very much playing time at all as other guys get healthy, Yet if he can continue to play how he has thus far, the opportunity to develop and continue getting playing time will be there.
Cryer played at Baylor University and the University of Houston and was one of the best three-point shooters in the collegiate ranks. In his final year at Houston, he made 42.4% of his three-point attempts and was actually more accurate beyond the arc than he was from two-point range.
He went undrafted in last year's NBA Draft, but the Warriors decided to take a chance on him and he is now with the team on a two-way contract. He has played quite well in Santa Cruz where he is averaging 24.5 points per game and is shooting over 40% from three-point range.
It will be interesting to see if Kerr uses him as a more regular member of the rotation going forward. With Stephen Curry out, the Warriors are desperate to find offense any way they can. Cryer could potentially prove to be the most reliable three-point option they have as long as their star is sidelined with a knee injury.
He has only played a few games, but the 24-year-old is quickly proving that he can drain threes in the NBA, something he's done at every level throughout his whole career thus far.