Memphis Grizzlies: Mike Conley’s Progression
The 2013-14 season was not the Memphis Grizzlies‘ season, again. After a “failed” trip to the Western Conference playoffs and eventual first round out via a seven-game battle against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Grizzlies regrouped in the offseason and built around its core by keeping it close to untouched.
It’s impossible to start pointing out who’s responsible for the team’s “failure”. Of course, Zach Randolph‘s Game 7 suspension had a huge impact over the eventual outcome of the series.
Nevertheless, if we HAD TO blame something/someone, I would personally look (as everyone else should) at Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round, a.k.a.“The Reggie Jackson Game”.
| Basic Box Score Stats | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starters | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | PTS | +/- |
| Kevin Durant | 49:17 | 5 | 21 | .238 | 1 | 7 | .143 | 4 | 6 | .667 | 15 | 0 |
| Russell Westbrook | 44:26 | 6 | 24 | .250 | 1 | 6 | .167 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 15 | +5 |
| Reserves | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | PTS | +/- |
| Reggie Jackson | 37:22 | 11 | 16 | .688 | 2 | 4 | .500 | 8 | 8 | 1.000 | 32 | +2 |
| Team Totals | 265 | 33 | 90 | .367 | 8 | 28 | .286 | 18 | 20 | .900 | 92 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/15/2014.
Evidently, the Grizzlies failed to take advantage of Durant and Westbrook’s off-game and got burned by none other than Reggie Jackson, a three-year point guard that just had the best season, by far, of his young NBA career. Eventually the Grizzlies lost the series 4-3 and failed to reach the second-round of the Playoffs.
Once the season came to an end, the team’s capacities came into question. Do they have the talent needed to contend for a title in the West? They most certainly believe so.
But do they?
We’ve previously looked at Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol‘s ranks against the league’s elite at their position, they sure are among the best. Today we’re looking at Mike Conley‘s ability to match up against the top-tier point guards around the league.
During his current run with the Grizzlies, Conley has evolved into one of the best point guards in the league. Bleacher Report ranked him seventh in their 2013-14 Top 10 Point Guards Rank in the NBA surpassing Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, Ty Lawson and four-time NBA champion point guard extraordinaire Tony Parker.
Let’s take a look at how Conley matches up against five of the top 10 point guards in the NBA:
| Rk | Player | G | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | FT% | AST | STL | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Conley | 73 | 33.5 | .450 | .361 | .484 | .815 | 6.0 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 17.2 |
| 2 | Stephen Curry | 78 | 36.5 | .471 | .424 | .509 | .885 | 8.5 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 24.0 |
| 3 | Tony Parker | 68 | 29.4 | .499 | .373 | .509 | .811 | 5.7 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 16.7 |
| 4 | Chris Paul | 62 | 35.0 | .467 | .368 | .498 | .855 | 10.7 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 19.1 |
| 5 | John Wall | 82 | 36.3 | .433 | .351 | .458 | .805 | 8.8 | 1.8 | 3.6 | 19.3 |
| 6 | Russell Westbrook | 46 | 30.7 | .437 | .318 | .482 | .826 | 6.9 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 21.8 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/15/2014.
As good as a point guard as he is, and even though he matches up quite well with the elite, it was not always this way. Mike Conley has come a long way since he was drafted by the Grizzlies with the fourth overall pick in the 2007 draft.
Conley came out of
(The)
Ohio State University as a .518/.304/.694 shooter averaging 11.3 points per game in his lone season as a Buckeye. A series of trades during his rookie and sophomore season (2007-08, 2008-09) gave him a chance to become the 2009-10 starting point guard for the team.
| Season | G | GS | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | FT% | AST | STL | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-08 | 53 | 46 | 26.1 | .428 | .330 | .453 | .732 | 4.2 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 9.4 |
| 2008-09 | 82 | 61 | 30.6 | .442 | .406 | .458 | .817 | 4.3 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 10.9 |
| 2009-10 | 80 | 80 | 32.1 | .445 | .387 | .464 | .743 | 5.3 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 12.0 |
| 2010-11 | 81 | 81 | 35.5 | .444 | .369 | .466 | .733 | 6.5 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 13.7 |
| 2011-12 | 62 | 61 | 35.1 | .433 | .377 | .450 | .861 | 6.5 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 12.7 |
| 2012-13 | 80 | 80 | 34.5 | .440 | .362 | .476 | .830 | 6.1 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 14.6 |
| 2013-14 | 73 | 73 | 33.5 | .450 | .361 | .484 | .815 | 6.0 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 17.2 |
| Career | 511 | 482 | 32.7 | .442 | .372 | .466 | .793 | 5.6 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 13.1 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/15/2014.
Showing continuous signs of improvement over the course of his seven year career with the Grizzlies, he’s already considered, year after year, a top 10 point guard in the toughest conference in the league (note: the Western Conference leads the league with 12 of the top 20 point guards in the NBA).
Not a small feat in a league that features stars like Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Tony Parker.
BREAKING: Mike Conley and the Grizzlies are yet to look back.