Golden State Warriors: 5 Keys To Second Round Series
2. Mike Conley‘s Health
Let’s be honest: this series could be heading for a sweep if Mike Conley can’t play. Coming off facial surgery that left him looking like he just went 10 rounds with Apollo Creed, Conley is still listed as “out indefinitely.” The first game of the series doesn’t start until Sunday, but the Grizzlies desperately need their Rocky Balboa back on the court.
Obviously, every playoff team needs each of its three best players to be healthy. But with backup point guard Beno Udrih dealing with a tender ankle, the Grizzlies will have no shot in this series if they have to rely on third string point guard Nick Calathes to run the offense AND defend Steph Curry.
Conley is one of the few players in the league who can make Curry work for his points. He’s also an underrated key to Memphis’ offense, which became fully evident in their series against the Portland Trail Blazers. In three games with Conley, the Grizzlies averaged 104 points per game and went 3-0.
In two games without him, the Grizz averaged 95.5 points and went 1-1 against a Blazers team playing without Wesley Matthews and dealing with the mightily struggling LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard.
If Conley returns, Grizz-Warriors could be fantastic. If not, might be kinda depressing.
— Mike Prada. (PRAY-duh) (@MikePradaNBA) April 30, 2015
Even with Conley, the Grizzlies don’t match up particularly well with the Warriors. But without him, this series could get out of hand extremely fast. Whether or not he can play (and play at 100 percent) will determine how competitive this series is.
Nobody should be rooting for an injury to an opposing star player, but it needs to be stated that this series will be over quickly if Conley misses any time.
Next: No. 1