The Golden State Warriors obviously suffered a blow when Brandon Williams left in the first quarter of the game against the New Orleans Pelicans last night with a hamstring injury.
He hasn't been the lead ball-handler that some expected him to be behind Stephen Curry—that role has gone to Yaxel Lendeborg. But he's likely better suited as an additional offensive contributor than an on-ball playmaker anyways, and things have worked out well for the Warriors so far with him working alongside Lendeborg off the bench.
Williams has averaged 10.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while shooting 41.3% from the field to this point in the season, and Golden State has a 120.6 offensive rating through the 143 minutes Lendeborg and Williams have seen on the court together.
LJ Cryer, who came into the game yesterday in place of Williams in the backcourt, can't provide the same skills that make that partnership work. Williams' speed, downhill aggression, and complementary playmaking are what has made his minutes off the bench so far so effective—Cryer is less mobile, less of a passer, and much less experienced with the ball in his hands.
But he does have the potential to be a lights-out shooter from beyond the arc, and that means Golden State can afford to have a trial run for the two-way player while Williams is out.
LJ Cryer deserves his opportunity to shine in the Warriors rotation
Again, Cryer can't be a one-for-one replacement for Williams in the Warriors rotation. His skill set is entirely different, and the way the bench offense runs will need to adjust if both Richard and Williams are forced to miss significant time.
But this is a team that can always make use of consistent perimeter shooting, and Cryer certainly has that. His play last season can essentially be disregarded because of the state of the rotation and the injuries he dealt with, but his showing over the summer was encouraging.
Across eight games between the California Classic and Summer League, Cryer averaged 14 points, 2.2 rebounds, and four assists while shooting 41.3% from beyond the arc. He went relatively cold in the preseason in limited minutes, but the point stands—when Cryer gets going, he can be a truly lethal perimeter shooter.
We saw that last night, as Cryer posted 10 points while hauling off multiple shots from deep range, missing his first couple 3-pointers before finding a groove in the offense. Pairing him with pieces like Niang and Horford off the bench could give Golden State an extra dose of floor spacing that could come in handy for certain matchups over their next stretch of games. The San Antonio Spurs, for example, are currently 28th in the league in opponent 3-point shooting during their bench minutes, and Cryer is a piece that can potentially be maximized in that matchup.
With all 15 roster spots full, Golden State likely won't be elevating a two-way player to a standard contract this year unless a trade necessitates a move there. But Golden State still has 42 games to make use of Cryer before they need to even consider that, and the bench unit has been more than viable enough to give Cryer a test run while Williams is out.
That doesn't mean there will be a rotational role for him when the backcourt is full again, but there's no reason to believe he can't provide some helpful minutes over the next couple of weeks.
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