3. Mike Conley, Utah Jazz
After 12 seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies the ever-reliable point guard, Mike Conley was traded to the Utah Jazz over the 2019 off-season.
In need of a reliable contribution from the point-guard position, Utah signed Conley to fill out the back-court next to their No.1 superstar, Donovan Mitchell. Utah has appeared in three consecutive playoff series but has only managed to reach the Western Conference Finals once in the past 20 years (2006-07 season).
Memphis are a team on the rebuild, not exactly genuine playoff contenders over the past few seasons. So, for Conley getting traded to Salt Lake City is a breath of fresh air for his career and a chance to help Donovan Mitchell lead the Jazz on a deep playoff run.
Playing second fiddle to Mitchell means that Conley will never have the same impact as he did in Memphis, but he has struggled to find his groove in the early part of the 2019-20 season.
After reaching a career-high average of 21.1 points per game during the 2018-19 season in Memphis, Conley is currently averaging just 14.9 points per game through his first 14 starts in Utah. This 14.9 point average is the lowest Conley has had across a season since his 2012-13 season where he averaged 14.6 points each game.
Conley could be excused for his lower points average, with Utah clearly preferring to go through Mitchell on the offensive end. However, Conley is suffering poor shooting form which is heavily contributing to his decreased offensive production.
Conley is currently shooting at a career-low 36.9 percent from the field, only the second time in his career he has shot below 42 percent from the field. This has been highlighted by his struggles from 2-point range, shooting just a 38 percent conversion rate on all shots from inside the 3-point line. His previous career low in this category is 44 percent, so his current form is quite poor compared to the rest of his career.
Conley is also struggling from the free-throw line to start the season. The point guard is currently hitting on 76 percent of his free throw attempts this season which is his lowest conversion rate from the charity stripe since the 2010-11 season.
The Jazz guard is currently contributing lower numbers in the assist category also. Averaging just 4.4 assists each game, Conley is well down on his 6.4 assist-per-game average from the 2018-19 season. To go with this, he is also averaging a career-high 2.5 turnovers per game which shows that his ball usage has been poor to start the season.
The Jazz is struggling in most of these statistical categories to start the season also.
Through their first 14 games of the 2019-20 season, Utah is averaging just 104.7 points per game. This average is the 5th lowest of any team in the NBA currently. This stems from their low shot production, averaging the least shot attempts per-game at 81.1 each night of the entire NBA competition. Utah also ranks 3rd last in the competition for assists per game, averaging just 20 assists every time they step on the floor.
All these statistics are well down on their overall averages from the 2018-19 season, despite adding Conley into their starting lineup.
However, Utah has still managed to get off to a decent start sitting as the No.5 seed in the Western Conference, boasting a healthy 9-5 record. They have claimed big wins over the likes of the 76ers, Bucks, and Clippers but have also dropped easier games against the likes of Conley’s old squad the Grizzlies and Kings.
If the Utah Jazz is looking to take the next step and be genuine Western Conference contenders, they are going to need better production out of their new recruit Mike Conley. Come playoff time, Donovan Mitchell will need some assistance on the offensive end and Conley needs to show Salt Lake City faithful why he can be the man for the moment.