Best wednesday performances in the NBA playoffs, No. 2: Mike Conley
Special Consideration: Ja Morant, 47 pts, 4 reb, & 7ast in a losing effort. What a player.
With Donovan Mitchell back in the lineup tonight after missing significant time, coming off a game one loss, and being at home in front of that intense Utah crowd, I was fully expecting Mitchell to make his mark as the best performance for the Jazz.
Admittedly, I was wrong. Mitchell had a great game as he made his presence felt with 25 points on a minutes restriction of just 26 minutes. Mitchell’s offense included 50 percent shooting from the 3-point line on 10 attempts. One of which was an and-1 that caused Memphis Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks to get his second foul early on in the game. Very crucial to say the least, especially so early on in the ball game.
Not as Crucial as the performance of former Memphis Grizzlie great, Mike Conley, now a member of the Utah Jazz. Conley was the table setter all night for the Jazz as he led everyone in assists with a very impressive 15 for the game. When Conley was on the floor the ball moved at an elite level. Even if Conley didn’t get the assist in the book, it seemed that everyone took the role of an unselfish player and made the extra pass to ultimately get the best shot available.
The Jazz ball movement, specifically when Conley was on the floor was that of the San Antonio Spurs ball movement at their peak.
Conley did his fair share of scoring too, putting in 20 points on 8-16 shooting from the field. Conley age 33, led the Jazz in minutes played on Wednesday night as well, a true “Don’t worry guys, I got us” performance from Conley tonight.
As many people remember, Conley played for this Grizzlies franchise for many years before being dealt to Utah when Memphis drafted their point guard of the future, Ja Morant. Was this a revenge against my old team game? Maybe it was. Maybe Conley wanted to avenge the Jazz loss in Game 1. Maybe it’s both, maybe it’s neither, either way Conley was the man tonight.
The Jazz evened up the series at 1-1 with a 141-129 win against the Grizzlies. The Jazz were energized by Conley’s terrific play, Mitchell being back in the lineup, and of course the Utah fans. Utah won three out of the four quarters and came out more energized then memphis. Memphis played from behind the whole game, tough to win on the road that way, especially in the playoffs. The series is headed to Memphis for Games 3-4.