The Golden State Warriors announced on Wednesday that 2x MVP Stephen Curry will miss at least another five games with his runner's knee injury, subsequently opening the door for two-way contacted guard LJ Cryer to continue his honeymoon period in Steve Kerr's rotation.
Cryer has been a revelation for the Warriors despite their disappointing recent form, but suffice to say that he wouldn't have seen any opportunity if not for Curry's knee injury which will see him miss at least 20-straight games after exiting on January 30 against the Detroit Pistons.
LJ Cryer will remain a key part of the Warriors rotation for the moment
Cryer signed a two-way contract with Golden State back in early December, yet didn't see his first real rotation opportunity until last week's shock victory over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.
The undrafted guard immediately took advantage of his opportunity, recording 12 points and three rebounds on 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range, proving crucial as the Warriors forced the game to overtime and ultimately delivered a 115-113 win.
Cryer followed that with six points and two rebounds on 2-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc against the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, then poured in 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal against the Utah Jazz on Monday.
Yet the 24-year-old saved his best performance for Tuesday's second night of a back-to-back against the Chicago Bulls, dropping a career-high and equal team-high 17 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor and 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
Cryer did crucially miss a free-throw in the final 10 seconds that helped the Bulls send the game to overtime where they ultimately ran over the hosts, but it was nonetheless an impressive performance from someone so short into their career.
LJ Cryer is delivering legitimate impact to the Warriors
While the Warriors have lost three of the four games Cryer has appeared in, including the last two against teams who are essentially tanking, these are not simply empty calorie stats that the 6'1" guard is putting up.
No Golden State player has a better plus-minus than Cryer over the last four games, and it's not particularly close either. The Warriors have outscored their opposition by 31 points in Cryer's 75 minutes on the floor, while Kristaps Porzingis ranks second over that span (albeit he's only played in two games) at +10.
It's not as if Cryer's 48% shooting from 3-point range is any flash in the pan either, having shot well in excess of 40% in college and in the G League so far this season. With Curry now sidelined for at least another five games, Kerr and the Warriors will have no choice but to keep leaning on the unheralded guard for the time being.