Why Mike Conley Is Memphis Grizzlies Most Important Player
The Memphis Grizzlies have been a different team when Mike Conley has played at his best.
It’s no secret that the Grizzlies will need to re-sign Conley in the offseason, but it’s becoming more and more clear who the team’s true leader is as the season goes on.
Both Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol have taken their turns being the team’s best player as Memphis has been so low-post focused in recent years. However, that mantle no longer belongs to one of the big men on Beale Street. It belongs to the little point guard that could.
Conley does one thing well that almost no one else on the team can do effectively: create his own shot off the dribble.
Outside of potentially Jeff Green, Conley is the only guard who can reliably hit pull-up and improvised shots as well as pass the ball to where it needs to go because of his handle and ability to operate at different speeds.
For his career, only 20.6 percent of Conley’s two-point shots have been assisted on as opposed to the other player on this team with a fairly decent handle in Green. Green’s two-point shots have been assisted on 50.5 percent of the time, calling back to the early parts of his career as a power forward with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
On his shots from inside the arc, Conley has connected on 44.6 percent on those attempts, a better mark than Green’s 40.0 percent.
Green has been an inconsistent scorer throughout his career because of poor shot selection and decision making. Conley on the other hand has long been the Grizzlies best decision maker on the perimeter both shooting and passing the basketball.
For his career, Conley has averaged 5.6 assists to only 2.1 turnovers per game, and is off to a blazing start this season with 6.6 assists to 1.7 turnovers per game. Conley doesn’t make many mistakes with the ball in his hands and it shows.
That’s the main reason why he always seems to have control of the basketball other than when it’s trapped down low. He’s a smart and agile player who has found a knack recently for scoring and taking games over on offense.
When Conley has scored 20 or more points in a game this season the Grizzlies are 4-1, a mark that suggests the team should still be considered among the elite teams in the Western Conference.
It’s not rocket science that Memphis has always been a better team when it has capable offense to lean on. Conley has the potential to be the team’s leading scorer and quarterback of the offense. It’s just a matter of changing a few of the team’s schemes to take advantage of his strengths.
Could you imagine Conley’s numbers if they played to his style at a faster pace? His numbers could potentially be on a MVP-caliber level because of the better looks he would get in transition.
I would also like to see the Grizzlies play more pick-and-roll with Conley and Gasol because of the center’s ability in both rolling to the basket and coming off the screen for a mid-range jump shot. With Conley’s great instincts finding open shooters and making the right decision off of the roll, it’s a halfcourt offense that’s better suited for him rather than throwing the ball into the post and letting things happen.
The Grizzlies have found a few effective lineups this season filled with three-point shooters. Those are the combinations that are going to bring success because they take full advantage of their star player’s capabilities.
Conley has been the silent leader of a perennial contender in the league’s better conference. It’s time the Grizzlies start looking at him as such and put the keys of the offense fully in his hands.