You’re The GM: Ty Lawson Or Mike Conley?
By Luke Duffy
In last week’s edition of ‘You’re the GM’ it was James Harden kind of surprisingly winning in a pretty close one over Marc Gasol. Plus that was before his heroics against the Golden State Warriors the other night. This week we return with two point guards who are absolutely underrated at their position, and are each experiencing very different seasons to date so far this year.
In Ty Lawson, the Denver Nuggets possess one of the fastest players in the league, and a real leader for his team. Mike Conley on the other hand, tends to be forgotten about when talking about the big bullies the Memphis Grizzlies have as part of their frontcourt. If you had to pick one though, who would you have leading your team?
Ty Lawson
At 27 years old, it kind of feels like Ty Lawson has been in the league for ages now. In reality though, this is only his fifth season, but he plays like a player with tons more experience than he actually possesses. His controlled aggression is actually very unique as well, in that at times it looks like he’d wildly headed for the hoop with no idea what he’s about to do, before smartly kicking it out or finishing around the basket.
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In fact, a staggering 39 percent of Lawson’s points throughout his career have come from right at the rim. The dude stands less than six feet tall, so that’s really impressive.
Defensively, he gives that same effort even though he’s usually giving up some size to his opponent, but he truly is the engine and drive of this team. This season he’s seen his scoring output drop a little, but he’s third in the league in assists per game (10.3). He’s trying to get his teammates going, but they’ve been streaky so far this season.
He’s had some help in Arron Afflalo and Kenneth Faried (sort of) but they’re not heading to the playoffs this season. His midrange game still needs some work, but the big plus is that he’s remained healthy this year when in years gone by he’s been banged up with several ailments.
Still though, the guy is a born leader, and it’s a good thing the Nuggets have him, as without him they’d be far worse than they actually are. He’s an attacker, he’s distributing more than he ever has before and he’s healthy and on the court, all pluses for this guy.
Mike Conley
It seems like this guy will never get the credit he deserves, but you kind of feel he wouldn’t have it any other way. While opponents zone in on Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, Conley quietly sets the table for an elite Western Conference team. He’s gone far in the playoffs, reaching the Conference Finals with this team a couple of seasons back as well.
It seems he’s a jack of all trades, master of none, yet he fits into what the Grizz need in a floor general perfectly. This season, he’s 16th among point guards in assists (6.1) 10th in scoring among point guards (16.9) and 21st in rebounds (2.8).
Perhaps surprisingly, Conley is also third among all point guards in three point percentage, shooting just shy of 44 percent. He’s not really known as a bomber, and yet the damage his teammates cause in the paint give him some clean looks that he gladly feasts on. In fact, that near 44 percent long range shooting is a career high by some distance and shows that Conley has added to his game in his seventh year in the NBA.
His Plyer Efficiency Rating of 21.2 (League average 15) is also a career high and is somewhat surprising given he is this team’s third option in most people’s eyes. Defensively he’s pretty solid too, but that’s almost a must if you play for this team. Certainly in this particular comparison, he’s the better defender than Lawson. He’ll probably never be an All-Star, but Memphis just needs him to keep doing what he’s doing, as he knows how to play to his and his team’s strengths perfectly right now.
Verdict
It’s tough because for me personally. I’d love to see Lawson play for a different team to see what else he could do. A team like the Warriors would be so intriguing to watch him lead, but that’s never going to happen. Denver head coach Brian Shaw has his teams play a certain way, and while Lawson certainly can and does fit into those ideals, he could probably do so much more for a team if given the right help.
As is often the case, Conley is a steady player, but is also a product of his environment. If he were expected to run the show every night, on a team like the Nuggets for example, he’d probably be exposed a little bit more.
Make no mistake though, there’s not much he can’t do, and adding a reliable three-point shot like he has brings him to the next level, albeit quietly. So for me it’s Conley, the guy who knows what he’s about and how best to help his team win while still quietly getting his. If Lawson were to move teams or the Nuggets became a better overall outfit, we could revisit this matchup, and there could be a different outcome.
What do you think though? Leave your pick in the comments section below and as usual, the best players wins.