The Golden State Warriors are one of the last four teams standing in Las Vegas. LJ Cryer scored 17 points on five three-pointers in Thursday’s 87-77 win over the Knicks, closing group play at 3-1 and securing the fourth and final Summer League semifinal berth on point differential. The reward is a Saturday night date with the unbeaten Lakers.
The margin for error was thin. With the Lakers taking the top seed at 4-0, the other three spots came down to a tiebreaker pile of 3-1 teams sorted by scoring margin: Memphis got in at plus-11.5, Houston at plus-10.3, and Golden State squeaked through at plus-6.3. Phoenix, also 3-1, missed the cut at plus-3.8 — which means Tuesday’s 106-85 loss to the Grizzlies, the Warriors’ one stumble of the week, nearly cost them the trip. Cryer’s shooting against New York rebuilt just enough cushion.
The second-year guard has been the steadiest perimeter threat on a summer roster that has mostly belonged to Yaxel Lendeborg. The No. 11 pick opened the week with a 21-point, 10-rebound, six-assist line against Dallas and has kept the front office’s draft-night conviction looking sound since. For a veteran team that needs cheap rotation minutes to materialize behind an aging core, a July in which both the lottery pick and a second-year guard on the fringe of the rotation produced is about the best outcome Vegas offers.
Saturday’s semifinal against the Los Angeles Lakers is the first all-Pacific Division elimination game of the summer, with the winner playing Sunday for the championship against Memphis or Houston.
For fantasy purposes, Cryer is a deep-league and two-way watch rather than a draftable asset — the shooting is real, but a crowded Warriors backcourt caps his path to minutes. Lendeborg is the name that matters: his all-around summer strengthens his case for immediate rotation work, and he belongs on dynasty rosters now and late-round redraft lists if the role talk firms up in camp.
