3 Keys to the Memphis Grizzlies Ending the Season Victoriously Versus Golden State
Mike Conley Must Play
The Memphis Grizzlies have been resting Mike Conley occassionally since the start of March. They have attempted to retain his current trade value ahead of the reopening of the trade market during the summer months, yet Memphis has unlocked the cheat code to enable Conley to produce the best individual stretch of his 12-season NBA career.
While Mike Conley has been sidelined in all of the Memphis Grizzlies’ past five games and seven of their past 10, this is a prime opportunity to play him for perhaps one last time. It sounds like this has been the point guard’s final season in Memphis, so Game No. 82 of 82 is the perfect setting for a final appearance.
The Grizzlies’ matchup against the Golden State Warriors serves as the home and season finale for Memphis. It could be a final goodbye to “Captain Clutch” in a Grizz uniform. It would be different if the final game of the season was a road meeting, but this is about the fans and the city. Give them one last game of Mike Conley in the city that has embraced him since Day One, even if it is via a minutes restriction.
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If Mike Conley plays, the Grizzlies will have a major boost in their odds of victory. Memphis has won all four of their games in which Conley notches the 30-point mark since the NBA All-Star break. That is when Mike has really turned up the heat on his play.
Conley has been so hot that it earned him Western Conference Player of the Week accolades over some very prestigious and deserving names, and rightfully so. He has been Mr. Fourth Quarter. His play has been All-Star worthy, too. It is as simple as this: Memphis becomes much more difficult to defeat when Mike Conley is on the court, whether it is for 25 minutes or 35 minutes. He is their MVP.
It would make sense for the Warriors to rest guys such as Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and others as their No. 1 seed in the West is set in stone. Plus, they are locked into the league’s third-best record overall behind the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors, respectively.
The more players Golden State rests on Wednesday will enhance the Memphis Grizzlies’ chances of being victorious. If you are going to play Mike Conley, the best time to do so versus the Warriors is when they are sitting their most physical players.