Mike Conley tried to carry the Jazz through adversity during the first half of the season. It took a toll on his body and he’s now trying to work his way through a rough patch, Tony Jones of The Athletic writes. Looking worn out, Conley has scored in single digits in seven of his last 10 outings.
“I was trying to do everything I could physically and mentally to keep the ship afloat,” said Conley, who re-signed with the Jazz on a three-year deal last summer. “I tried to be there for everybody. When doing that, sometimes you can forget about being there for yourself. We hit some true adversity. We were getting doubted by everyone. We had a bunch of outside distractions going on. And you saw it creeping into our games.”
We have more from the Western Conference:
- Pelicans coach Willie Green is hopeful CJ McCollum will clear the league’s health and safety protocols in time to play on Tuesday, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune tweets. McCollum was placed in protocols on Thursday. “We’re hopeful. We’ll see how it goes,” Green said. “He’s got to get a couple negative tests. He’s progressing.” The Pelicans have listed McCollum as questionable to play.
- Jock Landale is hopeful he’ll still be wearing a Spurs uniform next season, as he told Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News. He had a 26-point, 7-rebound game against Indiana on Saturday but his $1.56MM salary for next season isn’t guaranteed. “This is where I want to be long-term if I can,” Landale said. “I don’t want to go anywhere. Me and my fiancée love it here. I love the organization, love the boys I play with.”
- In the same story, McDonald points out that Spurs lottery pick Joshua Primo has seen his offensive numbers go down while his playing time has gone up. Primo is averaging 24.8 MPG this month but he’s only averaging 6.0 PPG on 37.5% shooting in those games. Teammate Devin Vassell has an explanation. “It’s the rookie wall,” he said. “It’s real.”
- The Rockets recently guaranteed Kenyon Martin Jr.‘s $1.78MM salary for next season and Basketball News’ Mark Schindler details why he believes Martin could turn into one of the top role players in the league.
Glad he was able to snap out of it for the Bucks game. Came down to the wire against the current champs. Just need to take better shots/plays at the end instead of desperation shots. Aim at the back of the rim and don’t move your head when you shoot. That way, even if you contort your body, your shot is still straight. =)
That strategy by Conley… Jazz’s problem is the playoffs not the RS… Conley has missed crucial time in both the last couple playoffs. He should be aiming to be ready.
Maybe he was indirectly indicating he wanted more time off until then.
Utah has 7 wing-ables in their top 11 (by minutes, spot 2/3/4, no Ingles). But “experts” are always pointing to them needing ever more wingers. (They are probably using code to mean more blacks, whatever.) But crucially, none of those 7 are used to playing a true guard, or can. (Clarkson looks for his own shot, usually on the wing; none can stop penetration from the middle.) Meanwhile the backup to Conley is Trent Forrest. WHO?
Utah will be relying on a a rookie from FSU in critical times to win a title with.
New off-guards Jared Butler & NAW are not used much, prolly not ready. Of course Leonard Mitchell can take over at times but he has enough in his plate; he cannot be superman for the whole run.
You’re clearly not a regular Jazz fan if you don’t know who Trent Forrest is. He’s 23 years old and played well in last year’s playoffs. He’s a good defender and playmaking guard. He’s bigger than Conley but not an outside shooter. He’s more of a penetrator, lob, drive and kick, guy.
Although, at this point, I’d prefer the minutes to go to NAW and House. They’re longer and help offset Donovan’s height, but are still fast and athletic enough to keep up with him and opposing wings. But most importantly, they’re both clutch shooters so far.
League fan, or Cavs. But not everyone who gets wound up with one team is so positive about them!
I would like to see the Jazz get a payoff from all their winning seasons. Phoenix may do it first tho