#Mike conley stts series#
#Mike conley stts free#

Mike appears to be comfortable in his second Jazz season, always making the right read. Altogether, his per-36 scoring number of 19.7 ppg is his fourth best in his 14-year career.

#Mike conley stts free#

While some shooting numbers may regress to the mean, his free throw percentage can only go up. Mike will fire off a three early in the shot clock if given any air space Now he hunts three point opportunities and takes them without hesitation. At the beginning of last year, Conley emphasized integrating with the team and didn’t look for his own shot as much.

His improvement comes from above the break threes, where he’s shooting early in the shot clock and whenever a defender goes under on the screen. This may feel unsustainable, but his corner threes are actually below average.

He’s also canning them at a career-best 42% accuracy. Last season 42% of his shots were threes. Despite playing two and a half fewer minutes than his career average, he’s posting a career high 6.8 long range attempts a night. Like Jordan Clarkson, Mike is converting mid-range shots into three point attempts. But Conley is doing some new things in Utah. Mike was a borderline All-Star caliber player in Memphis. If Mitchell is going to take the reins eventually, why not trade Conley for value before he moves on? It’s not an unreasonable question, but Mike’s recent play has changed the equation. Bojan Bogdanovic had a breakout season, proving to be a solid second option. Then when he missed time due to injury, Mitchell excelled as the primary ball-handling guard. Conley struggled at the beginning of last season. It’s easy to disparage fake trades in hindsight, but they shouldn’t be dismissed completely. Now that Conley is surging, the narrative has shifted to “how can the Jazz keep him on the team?” He’s playing so well, he may even price himself outside of Utah’s budget. A slumping player quickly becomes a popular target on trade machines, and Conley was certainly featured in many fake trades, even after his strong playoffs. Mike Conley, trade machine pieceĮven after a strong bubble showing, Mike’s fit on the team was still in question by some fans. That’s exactly what the Jazz were hoping Memphis Mike would unlock. Donovan without Mike in the prior year’s Houston series: 21/5/3 on 42% TS.

#Mike conley stts series#

The effect on Mitchell was also clear: Donovan in that playoff series alongside Mike in the bubble: 36/5/5 on 70% TS. While it took Conley some time to find to get comfortable during the regular season, he fulfilled his role come playoff time in Utah’s matchup against the Nuggets, averaging 20 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds on 67% TS. It’s hard to make a deep playoff run with only one offensive star. The Jazz had just come off a brutal playoff loss to the Houston Rockets, who swarmed Mitchell on defense, and Utah’s other players couldn’t make enough shots to make Houston pay. When the Jazz acquired Conley, they envisioned that version of Memphis Mike as the secondary creator to make Donovan Mitchell’s life easier. Memphis Mikeīefore being traded to Utah in the 2019 offseason, Conley was coming off a bounce back year with the Grizzlies, averaging a career high 21.1 ppg after dealing with injuries the prior season. Jazz fans have seen many facets of Mike Conley: Let’s explore the veteran guard’s transformation from a star-level player in Memphis to the Conley that is posting elite impact numbers in his second season with the Utah Jazz. Conley is having an elite impact on the Jazz.