A rising injury crisis has forced the Golden State Warriors into utilizing the very depths of their roster in recent games, including calling upon their trio of two-way contracted players in Malevy Leons, Nate Williams and LJ Cryer.
The latter saw his first meaningful NBA opportunity against the Houston Rockets on Thursday night, making the most of his opportunity and playing a crucial role in the Warriors' stunning 115-113 overtime victory over their Western Conference rival.
LJ Cryer could fill a glaring weakness for the Warriors going forward
Cryer drilled four of his nine 3-point attempts against the Rockets, including a crucial one during the overtime period. His 12 points in 20 minutes off the bench were important as the Warriors tried to generate meaningful offense without their stars, having been minus four starters in Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Kristaps Porzingis and Moses Moody.
Golden State were +6 in Cryer's minutes -- the only player off the bench to record a positive plus-minus for the visitors. The ability to take and make a high volume of 3-point shots, including ones off the dribble, is something the Warriors don't particularly have outside the Curry brothers.
In fact, beyond Curry and Butler, this Warrior roster is largely built on players who can complement the stars, and who can often struggle to step up to the task when challenged with more on-ball responsibility.
Cryer can fill a weakness there, having proven to be the kind of tough shot-taker and maker who can score points in bunches consistently at earlier levels. Anyone who's followed his career knows that his 4-of-8 shooting from deep on Thursday was no fluke, with his production in College and the G League jumping off the page.
LJ Cryer has put up big numbers in College and the G League
Cryer was a 41.3% 3-point shooter across five years of college at Baylor and Houston, including 42.4% with the Cougars last season. The 24-year-old is now average 21.7 points with Santa Cruz so far this season, shooting a blistering 44.9% from beyond the arc.
Head coach Steve Kerr may have said it best following Thursday's win, stating his belief in what he describes as a "natural shooting stroke" that the 6'0" guard possesses.
“I think every shot is going in that LJ shoots. He’s confident. His misses are dead on line. He’s just got a natural shooting stroke but also a natural ability to create some separation. And he’s a winner," Kerr said.
There's not a lot of players on the Golden State roster who are incredibly trustworthy 3-point shooters, nor who create seperation from defenders easily in a way Kerr describes.
This isn't to say Cryer overcomes the obvious size issue to become a genuine rotation player for the Warriors or elsewhere in the league, but he does have the upside of someone with an elite skill that this roster could utilize at some point down the track.