Despite another Warriors loss, Cryer shines.
The Golden State Warriors fell to the Chicago Bulls 130-124 in overtime on Tuesday night at Chase Center, dropping their third straight game and falling to 32-33 on the season.
It was another brutal loss for a team that has now lost five of its last six games and is currently without Stephen Curry, who has missed 15 straight contests with a right knee injury.
Despite the loss, though, one of the few bright spots for the Warriors continues to be two-way guard LJ Cryer, who finished with 17 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field while knocking down three of his five attempts from beyond the arc against the Bulls.
Cryer Keeping It Simple
After the game, Cryer was asked about how he has adjusted to getting consistent minutes in the NBA after recently coming back from a hamstring injury, and his answer was about as straightforward as it gets.
"I feel like I've been playing well for my circumstance, just coming off of a hamstring injury, still trying to get my legs under me. It's like my fourth day of playing five on five, like full court. I've only got to play in the game. So, it's just taking it day by day, stacking good days and the more I play, the more comfortable I'll be."
That mindset is what the Warriors need from their young players right now, especially with the team sitting at .500 and fighting for playoff positioning in the Western Conference.
Making the Most of His Opportunity
Cryer has only appeared in a handful of NBA games this season, but he has been making the most of every minute he gets on the floor.
In his return from the hamstring injury against the Houston Rockets last week, Cryer came off the bench and scored 12 points while hitting four of his eight three-point attempts in the Warriors' overtime upset win.
He followed that up with 11 points in a loss to Oklahoma City and then put together his best game yet against the Bulls, finishing plus-18 in 21 minutes while being one of the best players on the floor for Golden State in the second half.
Cryer scored nine points during a 21-4 Warriors run in the third quarter that sparked a comeback from double digits down, and he also made two clutch free throws with 10 seconds left in regulation to give the Warriors a one-point lead before things fell apart.
His three-point shooting has been especially impressive, as the University of Houston product has been one of the most reliable perimeter threats on the roster since getting called up.
In the G League with the Santa Cruz Warriors this season, Cryer averaged nearly 22 points per game while shooting 44.6 percent from three on over 10 attempts per game, so the production at the NBA level is not exactly surprising.
A Silver Lining in a Rough Stretch
The 27-38 Bulls came into Chase Center and outplayed the Warriors for much of the night, with Matas Buzelis going off for a career-high 41 points and Josh Giddey recording a triple-double.
For Golden State, players like Brandin Podziemski and Draymond Green have been carrying the load with Curry out, but Cryer's emergence gives the team another weapon off the bench as they try to keep their heads above water.
The Warriors have 17 games remaining in the regular season and are still in the thick of the play-in race, but they need Curry back soon if they want to make any real noise.
In the meantime, Cryer is doing his part by stacking good days and getting more comfortable with every game.