Mike Conley

Northwest Notes: Dillingham, Wolves, Hendricks, Nuggets

July 19th, 2024 at 2:32pm CST by Rory Maher

Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham, the No. 8 overall pick of last month’s draft, has been receiving advice from Mike Conley and John Wall as he prepares for his rookie season, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

Dillingham said he reached out to new teammate Conley for defensive advice. As for Wall, the former All-Star point guard is a North Carolina native who went to Kentucky, just like Dillingham.

“That’s my guy,” Dillingham said of Wall. “He been knowing me, texting me and stuff. At Kentucky, he came to all our games. I just hit him after the [Pelicans] game. I was super mad because I didn’t play that well. I just hit him, and he was just telling me to play my game.”

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Michael Rand and Hine of The Star Tribune recently discussed which Timberwolves players participating in Summer League have the best odds of becoming rotation members in the future. Despite struggling so far in Las Vegas, Dillingham will be given “every chance” to be Conley’s backup at point guard next season, according to Rand and Hine, who also expect fellow first-rounder Terrence Shannon to carve out rotation minutes in 2024/25. Former second-round pick Leonard Miller has impressed at Summer League, but he’s more likely to contribute in 2025/26 than ’24/25, per Rand and Hine.
Second-year Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks bounced back with a strong performance at Summer League on Wednesday after struggling on Monday, notes Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. A lottery pick last year (No. 9 overall), Hendricks contributed 23 points (on 9-of-10 shooting), nine rebounds, one steal and one block. “I think he was just more aggressive and more physical right from the start,” said Summer League coach Sean Shelden. ” … How you stick in a rotation, how you stick in the NBA, is just playing like how he did tonight.”
In a subscriber-only story for The Denver Post, Bennett Durando breaks down the Nuggets‘ projected depth chart for next season. Durando has Christian Braun sliding into the starting lineup at shooting guard, with Russell Westbrook, Julian Strawther, Peyton Watson, Vlatko Cancar and Dario Saric as Denver’s first five off the bench. Westbrook will reportedly sign with the Nuggets after he finalizes a buyout with Utah and clears waivers.

Northwest Notes: Conley, Blazers, Nuggets, Thunder

May 29th, 2024 at 6:18pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Seventeen-year NBA veteran and Timberwolves guard Mike Conley is the closest he’s ever been to the NBA Finals after winning Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, Andscape’s Marc J. Spears writes. The Wolves went down 3-0 to Dallas but held off elimination on Tuesday night with a 105-100 victory.

“This is the biggest game I’ve had in my career,” Conley said after Game 4. “The next game is the biggest game I’ve had in my career. It’s the biggest win. Honestly, it is. If you look at the board and see the seven up there, that is how many games we have left to win. That is how many we are away from a ring.”

On a roster with an average age under 27 years old and with a franchise star (Anthony Edwards) who was six years old when Conley entered the league, the point guard is the veteran presence who has played a key role in getting this team this deep into the postseason. Conley, whom head coach Chris Finch says “means everything” to the club, is averaging 11.9 points and 6.0 assists through 14 playoff games this season.

Conley also made the Western Conference Finals in 2013 with Memphis, but he and his team were swept by San Antonio. Tuesday’s win was his first career conference finals win. While Dallas holds a commanding 3-1 lead, Minnesota’s players and coaches continue exude confidence, Spears writes.

“It’s one game. Game 5 is Game 7,” Conley said. “This is all we got. Keep our mentality like that. Don’t look at the circus that surrounds us and all the stuff you been hearing. Keep the faith more than anything. The testament with the guys tonight is that we truly didn’t believe this was our last game … This doesn’t come around very often. So, when you get this chance, give everything you got. Don’t be afraid to fail.”

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The Trail Blazers hosted Louisiana Tech’s Isaiah Crawford, UConn’s Alex Karaban, Arizona’s Caleb Love, Boston College’s Quinten Post, Indiana’s Kel’el Ware and Tyler Smith of the G League Ignite for a pre-draft workout on Tuesday, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter link). Portland holds picks Nos. 7, 14, 34 and 40. Since the time of the workout, Karaban withdrew from the draft and CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reports Love is doing the same (Twitter link). Of the players listed, Ware is the highest ranked on ESPN’s best available list (No. 25).
Speculating how the Trail Blazers will manage having four picks in this year’s class, Highkin observes in a mailbag (Substack link) that Portland has 14 players on guaranteed contracts next season. If the Blazers do use most or all of their picks, that would likely mean some combination of Malcolm Brogdon, Jerami Grant, Robert Williams III, Matisse Thybulle and Anfernee Simons are out the door, or at the very least, being shopped, Highkin writes. Highkin explains that recent Blazers second-rounders (Rayan Rupert, Jabari Walker) have earned standard contracts, complicating matters at picks 34 and 40. As for likely targets at No. 7, Cody Williams and Tidjane Salaun could be in play, according to Highkin. In the second part of his mailbag (Substack link), he further breaks down what the Blazers will do with their veterans this offseason.
The Nuggets don’t have much money to spend on outside free agents this offseason and may be limited to minimum-salary players. Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports analyzes 10 potential low-cost free agents who could make sense in Denver, including Utah’s Kris Dunn, Los Angeles’s Mason Plumlee and Philadelphia’s Kyle Lowry.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti emphasized during his end-of-season press conference that he’s focused on building around what he already has. This season showed Oklahoma City’s roster needs additional time to continue to grow more than it needs outside moves, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes. Presti also said he doesn’t regret not being more aggressive at the deadline and is pleased with where the roster stands. “I know this is not going to go over well for people,” Presti said “But what we have is an appearance … We have shown up to the postseason. We’ll arrive if we can replicate that. Because there’s a lot of teams that have gotten to the playoffs for one year and then they, for whatever reasons, may not be able to get back there. So the way I would look at that is you can either pick the lock or you can crack the code. Picking the lock, you’re stealing it. Cracking the code, you own it.“

Western Notes: Murray, Young, Conley, James, Spurs

May 27th, 2024 at 7:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans are expected to explore the trade market for high-scoring forward Brandon Ingram this offseason and might find a trading partner in the Hawks. New Orleans had discussions with Atlanta prior to the February trade deadline and could reengage this summer, with the Hawks reportedly considering breaking up their backcourt.

If the two sides do talk, the Pelicans will likely be focusing on one guard more than the other. New Orleans seems to have more interest in Dejounte Murray than Trae Young, according to Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. That’s because the taller Murray is considered a stronger defender and he’s on a cheaper contract. Murray’s four-year, $114MM extension kicks in next season, whereas Young still has three years left on his five-year, maximum-salary extension.

The Pelicans could also be involved with the Cavaliers’ Darius Garland, who could return to his previous status as lead guard on a team like New Orleans after playing alongside Donovan Mitchell for two seasons.

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With his team facing elimination on Tuesday, Timberwolves guard Mike Conley is listed as questionable with a right soleus strain, the team’s PR department tweets. Conley had 16 points and four assists in 31 minutes in Game 3 on Sunday.
LeBron James is very likely to re-sign with the Lakers, Brian Windhorst said on ESPN’s Get Up program (video link). “The Sixers are a threat, but I don’t think a serious threat,” Windhorst said of the contender with the most money to spend this summer. Windhorst added he expects Philadelphia to make a run at James, who can opt out of his contract this summer.
The Spurs should be open to doing pretty much anything to build around Victor Wembanyama, according to The Athletic Mike Monroe, who doesn’t view any other player on the roster as an untouchable. In Monroe’s estimation, nobody should be surprised if the number of new players on San Antonio’s roster on opening night outnumbers the returning players from the 2023/24 roster.

Mavs Notes: Luka, Kyrie, Game 1 Takeaways, X-Factors

May 24th, 2024 at 10:57am CST by Rory Maher

The Mavericks were victorious in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday behind 63 combined points from Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. It marked the first Game 1 win of the postseason for Dallas, which was playing on the road in Minnesota.

“We had to work really hard to get this one,” Doncic said, per Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. “It’s big time. We know how tough it is to play in this place, especially against a team that has so many weapons, so it’s big-time to take this one. But it’s only one. We got three more to go.”

As Sam Amick of The Athletic writes, Irving was scorching hot in the first half, scoring 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting while being hounded by Anthony Edwards. It’s the latest example of Irving’s “basketball renaissance,” according to Amick, who points out that the 31-year-old has become a leader for the Mavericks and a key voice in the ear of Doncic.

“At times when he reacted to turnovers (in Game 1), or passes that didn’t convert to baskets for us, I was just reminding him to keep his head up and realize where we are, the magnitude of this,” Irving said of Doncic. “A lot of guys look to him for emotional stability, and emotional strength. We know he’s one of the best scorers of all time… and he’s going out there and not necessarily playing well offensively in the first half.

“(But) I know in the second half, he’s gonna be aggressive. We’ve been able to figure out that one-two punch of just playing the point guard role, playing that main scorer’s role and just not lacking in other areas in the basketball game. He can do other things, and I can do other things other than scoring. So when it’s his time to score, it’s my time to play defense and get up in a guy and contest shots and continue to do the little things that get us wins.”

Doncic was sensational closing the game, scoring 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the fourth quarter while making key defensive plays. He praised Irving’s first-half effort for keeping Dallas afloat, according to Sefko.

“That was big time,” Doncic said of Irving. “We probably would have been down 20 if he hadn’t scored that many points. I appreciate him keeping us in the game.”

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The Timberwolves largely chose to stay at home on shooters in Game 1, limiting Dallas to just 6-of-25 (24.0%) from long distance, writes Tim Cato of The Athletic. Minnesota, by contrast, was 18-of-49 (36.7%) from deep. Being minus-36 points from three is typically a recipe for disaster, but the Mavs found success in the paint (62-38) and on the boards (48-40), showing the team’s ability to adapt, Cato notes. “We’re going to take whatever you give us,” head coach Jason Kidd said. “We want to promote 3s, but if you take the 3s away when you have that many points in the paint against the No. 1 team defensively, we’ll take it if that’s what you’re going to give us. I thought the group pivoted nicely by understanding what was available on the floor by (Minnesota) taking away the 3s.”
Jon Krawczynski, Zach Harper, Tim Cato and Tobias Bass of The Athletic provide their takeaways from Game 1. Game 2 tips off at 7:30 pm CT on Thursday.
ESPN insiders Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Brian Windhorst list the role players they believe could be the X-factors for the rest of the series. MacMahon chose Mavs forward P.J. Washington, while McMenamin took Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels and Windhorst selected Wolves point guard Mike Conley.

Western Notes: Conley, Wolves, Mavs, Suns, Billups, Warriors

May 22nd, 2024 at 11:21am CST by Luke Adams

The calf/Achilles issue that sidelined Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley for Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals hasn’t gone away — he’s listed as questionable for Game 1 of the Western finals. Conley will play on Wednesday, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link), but the team will keep a close eye on that injury going forward.

“It honestly depends on if you can get through the game without having any small setback,” Conley said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “You have some movements that really kind of jar it or cause the pain to go up really quickly and kind of stays there for a little while. Some games I get through the whole game and you don’t have any setback and so you just kind of keep building upward and forward. So I’m just trying to stack as many of those days together as I can.”

Keeping Conley healthy will be crucial for the Wolves as they look to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. In the series vs. Denver, the team had a +13.6 net rating in the 196 minutes he played, compared to a -6.7 mark in the 140 minutes he wasn’t on the floor.

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The early returns on their blockbuster trades for Rudy Gobert and Kyrie Irving weren’t great, but the Timberwolves and Mavericks saved those deals and raised their respective ceilings by returning to the trade market, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger points to Minnesota’s deal for Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dallas’ acquisitions of P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford as follow-up moves that made those original trades look better and helped propel the two teams to the Western Conference finals.
When the Suns were preparing to fire Frank Vogel earlier this month, some of their players – including Kevin Durant – lobbied team owner Mat Ishbia to hire Chauncey Billups away from the Trail Blazers, sources tell Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (subscription required). There’s no indication that Portland would have let Billups get away, despite his uncertain long-term future with the franchise. In any case, the Suns’ decision-makers had already “zeroed in” on Mike Budenholzer by the time they let go of Vogel, Highkin says.
Tim Kawakami of The Athletic evaluates the plausibility of several possible trade targets who might be on the Warriors‘ offseason wish list, ranging from the extreme long shots (like Paul George and Lauri Markkanen) to the more plausible (including perhaps Jarrett Allen and Brandon Ingram).

Nuggets Notes: Game 7, Jokic, Murray, Braun, Offseason

May 20th, 2024 at 3:12pm CST by Rory Maher

The defending-champion Nuggets were eliminated from the postseason in extraordinary fashion by the Timberwolves in Sunday night’s Game 7, blowing a 20-point third-quarter lead at home, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. According to Youngmisuk, it was the largest Game 7 blown lead in the past 25 years.

Perhaps all the more stunning is the fact that Denver is known for having one of the best home court advantages in the league, going 33-8 in the regular season and only dropping one playoff home game during its championship campaign in 2022/23. In the first round, the Nuggets went 3-0 vs. the Lakers at home. Yet in the semifinal, they dropped three of four to Minnesota.

As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes, Nikola Jokic (34 points, 19 rebounds, seven assists) put up his typical huge numbers. However, the reigning Finals MVP and three-time MVP noticeably ran out of gas as the game progressed, settling for jumpers in the second half and going 13-of-28 from the floor overall, including 2-of-10 on threes (he made 6-of-7 from the line). The Serbian star rested for a total of just 84 seconds, all of which came in the first half.

Jokic was humble in defeat, praising the Wolves and specifically their roster construction. Minnesota’s front office is led by Tim Connelly, who drafted Jokic to Denver before getting a raise from the Wolves a couple years ago.

“I mean, I think they’re built to beat us,” Jokic said, per Youngmisuk. “Just look at their roster. They have basically two All-Stars (Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns), two probably first-team defensive players (Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels). Mike Conley is the most underrated player in the NBA, probably.

“From the bench, they have a Sixth Man of the Year (Naz Reid). … (They are) one team that they can do literally everything. They can be big, small.”

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Jamal Murray, who was instrumental in last year’s Finals run but has been battling a calf strain, scored his 29th point just over a minute into the second half before adding just six the rest of the way. He finished with a game-high 35 points on a very similar line to Jokic (13-of-27, 4-of-12 on threes, 5-of-5 on free throws). Murray viewed the series differently than Jokic, believing the Nuggets were the superior team, but trying to repeat as champions took its toll. “Just mentally and physically, conjuring up the energy to fight like you’re being hunted,” Murray said. “I think that’s the emotion. When you’re the hunter, you have so much more motivation and you grasp on to anything to prove everybody wrong and you have a constant chip on your shoulder. I don’t know. … I feel like we should have won tonight. That’s the tough part. They beat us, but we had so many great opportunities, including myself, so it’s just tough, man.”
Second-year wing Christian Braun concurred with Murray’s assessment and said he definitely views the Wolves as a rival now after eliminating a shorthanded Minnesota in last year’s playoffs. “It sucks,” Braun said. according to Durando, “because I think we’re the better team. … I don’t like them. I think that we need more of that in the NBA. They’re a really good team. Really well-coached. Really good players. It’s a matchup that you love to play in. You don’t want to play, like, really friendly with a bunch of teams. I think it’s a really good rivalry for the NBA. I would say it is a rivalry. And that’s why this hurts more.”
While Jokic and Murray took responsibility, they combined to score 69 points, compared to 21 points on 8-of-28 shooting for the rest of the team, notes Youngmisuk. And the starting lineup, which has consistently been one of the best in the league the past two seasons, was minus-60 overall, per Durando.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link), HoopsHype’s Mark Deeks, and cap expert Yossi Gozlan (YouTube link) preview Denver’s offseason and future salary cap situation, respectively. Starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, one of the team’s top defenders who shot 41.6% from deep in his two regular seasons with the Nuggets, could be their top free agent — he holds a $15.4MM player option and would likely get a raise on the open market. The Nuggets have one of the league’s more expensive rosters, so re-signing the 31-year-old might not be a lock.
Murray reiterated his desire to play for Canada in the upcoming Olympics in Paris this summer, per Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post. However, Jokic was noncommittal about the possibility of suiting up for the Serbia. “I don’t know, my friend, we will see,” he said. “I need to think about it.”
Head coach Michael Malone was clearly frustrated after the series and defended his actions and team, calling it a temporary setback, per Youngmisuk. “This is just a momentary delay,” Malone said. “It’s a failure, it’s not fatal. We’ll be back. The better team won, so I’m taking nothing away from Minnesota … but mentally, emotionally, physically, I think guys are gassed. They’re dead tired. They gave me everything I could ever ask for, and that’s why as much as this hurts, I’ll walk out of this building tonight with my head held very high.”

Wolves Notes: Conley, Finch, Towns, Edwards

May 18th, 2024 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mike Conley will have a chance to make a new Game 7 memory on Sunday, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. The Timberwolves‘ veteran point guard is still bothered by how the series ended when he and Rudy Gobert faced the Nuggets as members of the Jazz in a 2020 seventh game in the Orlando bubble. Conley had an opportunity to give Utah a dramatic victory, but his three-point shot at the buzzer misfired.

“I’ve replayed it a lot,” he said. “Having that opportunity to win a Game 7 like that and not be able to make the shot was tough. Now here we are in a similar situation, where we get to play the same team, a lot of the same guys. So for me, it’s just something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. Hopefully this will turn out different.”

Conley plans to be ready despite being listed as questionable with a right soleus strain that kept him out of Game 5. He was able to return for Thursday’s contest and said he feels better now than he did that night. He wants to be on the court so he can put to rest the bad memories from four years ago.

“It’s hard to escape it,” Conley said. “You find that clip every now and then. Sometimes it comes across the phone. I don’t actively search it — I don’t want to bring up that memory too much. But at the same time, it’s something that I’ve thought about at workouts and I think about if I’m having a tough day in a workout missing a certain shot. I’m like, ‘Nah, I got to make this because I might be in this situation again.'”

There’s more on the Wolves:

Injured head coach Chris Finch said he and lead assistant Micah Nori have developed an effective system as the series has worn on, Hine adds in the same piece. Finch can’t roam the sidelines after suffering a ruptured patella tendon in the first round, so he and Nori have to be selective about when they communicate. “Couple games ago, he was looking at me or to me a lot,” Finch said. “I just said, you can’t do that, we’re losing some possessions maybe here and there. Just trust your gut. He’s got 30 years of experience. So use it.”
Karl-Anthony Towns only scored 10 points in Game 6, but he sparked Minnesota’s blowout by doing all the things his critics say he can’t do, observes Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune. Towns served as the primary defender against Nikola Jokic, grabbed seven rebounds by the end of the first quarter and made the right passes in the offense.
Teammates raved about Anthony Edwards‘ maturation int0 a leader after Game 6, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. As the Wolves pulled away, Edwards implored the team to avoid any letdown that would allow Denver to get back into the game. “Just the way he’s grown from, I always say my second year, his rookie year, just from the way he’s grown as a basketball player and that person,” Naz Reid said. “It’s completely night and day.”

Wolves Notes: Conley, Edwards, Towns, McDaniels

May 17th, 2024 at 9:04am CST by Luke Adams

Facing elimination on Thursday, the Timberwolves turned in arguably the most dominant performance of any team this postseason, holding the Nuggets to 70 points on the night and going on separate 20-0, 13-0, and 24-0 runs en route to a 45-point victory. What was the difference for Minnesota? According to Anthony Edwards, the answer was simple, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“We got Mike Conley back,” Edwards said of his backcourt mate, who missed Game 5 due to a right soleus strain. “That was it.”

It’s a little reductive to give Conley full credit for the Wolves’ incredible performance. After all, he was also on the floor for the team’s home losses in Games 3 and 4. But Minnesota’s players and coaches have spoken all season about the outsized impact the veteran point guard – who was the team’s fifth-leading scorer during the season – has on the Wolves.

“Mike means everything for us,” head coach Chris Finch said after Game 6. “Unbelievable next to Anthony in terms of being able to set him up, play off of him, be in his ear all of the time. Smart defender. Just everything you want in an experienced, veteran point guard and just the very fact that Ant doesn’t have to handle it every single time, that alone helps us. … We desperately missed him the other night.”

Here’s more out of Minnesota:

As Sam Amick of The Athletic details, several Timberwolves players credited a video the coaching staff showed prior to Game 6 for helping the club regain its swagger and get in the right head space heading into Thursday’s contest. “Normally we have a (film) edit, just with certain offensive possessions This edit was more of a production, one of those that show all the big dunks and highlights and the ball movement and with music behind it,” Conley said. “It was a surprise. We’ll usually see the defensive stuff and offensive stuff, but this time they plugged it up to the big speaker. We normally don’t have anything plugged into the big speakers, just the (film) and coach will be talking over it. But this was more of a change-our-mentality sort of thing.” Edwards told reporters that the team’s “energy shifted” after watching the hype video, while Karl-Anthony Towns said it reminded the Wolves of the “discipline, the execution, (and) the tenacity” that they’d been lacking in their losses.
Edwards – who said on Thursday that he wants to be “the best player on both sides of the ball in the NBA,” per McMenamin – was the primary defender on Jamal Murray in Game 6. It was a miserable night for the Nuggets guard, who scored just 10 points on 4-of-18 shooting, though Murray suggested after the loss that a right elbow injury he suffered early in the game was more to blame for his off night. “I put some numbing cream on it just so I didn’t have to feel it every time it extended,” Murray said, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “… We got two days off. I just got to get ready and be able to be better for Sunday. Yeah, (it’s got) to be better for Sunday, man.”
Towns scored a playoff-low 10 points on Thursday, but his fingerprints were “all over” Minnesota’s Game 6 win, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic contends. Towns grabbed 13 rebounds, handed out five assists, only turned the ball over once, and – perhaps most crucially – stayed out of foul trouble while defending Nikola Jokic. “I told him today, ‘We’re thankful that you didn’t foul because if you foul we lose,'” Edwards said. “Because you are the best matchup we’ve got for Jokic. Like, you do the best job on him.”
After making just 2-of-12 three-pointers and scoring a total of 35 points in the first five games of the series, Jaden McDaniels hit 3-of-5 threes and scored 21 points on Thursday. Chip Scoggins of The Star Tribune takes a closer look at the impact that the Wolves’ “X-factor” had in the victory.

Mike Conley Officially Available For Must-Win Game 6

May 16th, 2024 at 6:09pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Starting Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley has been officially given the green light to play in a critical Game 6 of Minnesota’s second round matchup against the Nuggets on Thursday night, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (via Twitter).

Head coach Chris Finch revealed the news pregame, Hine reports. The former All-Star sat out Game 5 of the ongoing Western Conference second round playoff series with a right soleus strain, and had been previously listed as questionable for Game 6.

“He’s in,” Finch said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link).

Conley has served as something of a coach on the floor for the Timberwolves, who started off the series with two stunning road victories against the defending champs in Denver. The Nuggets, propelled by three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, roared back, winning the last three games of the series — they hold a 3-2 edge. The Timberwolves will at least be playing on their home court for Thursday’s must-win bout.

Through his eight healthy playoff games so far, the 36-year-old Conley is averaging 11.3 points (on .400/.375/.846 shooting), 7.0 assists, 3.8 boards, and 1.1 swipes per night.

Wolves Notes: Conley, Confidence, Maturity, Jokic, Gobert, NAW

May 16th, 2024 at 2:40pm CST by Rory Maher

Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley was ruled out for Tuesday’s Game 5 with a right soleus strain and is officially questionable for tonight’s Game 6. However, the 36-year-old plans to suit up, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter).

After Game 5, head coach Chris Finch said the team was optimistic Conley could return for Game 6, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “We’re hopeful Mike can go in Game 6,” Finch said. “That was one of the reasons to be cautious with him right here, feeling that he could go [on Thursday].”

Conley’s leadership and steady hand in the backcourt have buoyed Minnesota throughout the team’s 56-win season, writes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. The 36-year-old also understands his window of opportunity is shrinking, and the same may be true of the Wolves in the series.

“I’m one of those people, I don’t want to learn through losing,” Conley said. “I don’t want to learn by letting a team win a couple games in a series to make us change some things. Why don’t we, in games, figure this out? We’re good enough to do this. I don’t have time for it, y’all don’t have time for it.”

Conley, who signed a two-year extension during the season, played 76 regular season games in ’23/24 and is the team’s top on-ball decision-maker.

Here’s more on the Wolves:

Despite dropping three straight games for the first time all season, the Timberwolves remain confident as they look to stave off elimination against Denver in Thursday’s Game 6, according to McMenamin of ESPN. “Adversity has been something we’ve answered all year,” All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns said. “It’s something that if I was to go through this with anyone, I would go through it with these guys in this locker room. I have full confidence in these guys, I have full confidence in our locker room, I have confidence in our coaching staff. Everyone has been tremendous all year. It’s now time to put all that experience and that unity we’ve built throughout the whole year, even last year, and put it on the table and play our best basketball so we can give ourselves a chance to bring back Game 7 here.”
Star guard Anthony Edwards struggled with Denver’s extra defensive pressure in Game 5, but he said he’s looking forward to making up for it tonight in Minnesota, McMenamin adds. “Super excited,” Edwards said. “You get to compete. Get to go home and play with our backs against the wall. It should be fun.” If he’s healthy, Conley’s return should alleviate some double-team pressure from Edwards.
Despite their public proclamations of confidence, the Wolves haven’t dealt with adversity well the past few games, particularly from an emotional maturity standpoint, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (subscriber link). Several players have been guilty of immature moments, which has been an issue for this group the past couple seasons, Hine adds. “I mean, we got to keep our head. I think that’s the story for us,” Rudy Gobert said. “… We have to be mentally tough, individually and collectively, to be able to keep playing our game and not let anything that happened in the game affect the way we play.”
Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic details how three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who is also the reigning Finals MVP for the defending-champion Nuggets, was able to eviscerate four-time Defensive Player of the Year Gobert and Minnesota’s top-ranked defense in Game 5. The Serbian superstar was particularly lethal in the third period, recording 16 points on just seven shot attempts and recording four assists, frequently while intentionally hunting Gobert. John Hollinger of The Athletic contends that Jokic’s remarkable performance — 40 points on 15-of-22 shooting, 13 assists, seven rebounds, two steals and a block with zero turnovers — isn’t being discussed enough.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker has become an unlikely X-factor for the Wolves, writes Andrew Lopez of ESPN. The former first-round pick was traded three times in quick succession but has turned into a defensive stopper and a leader for Minnesota, Lopez notes.
Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune argues that if the Wolves are eliminated by the Nuggets, they shouldn’t blow up the big man pairing of Towns and Gobert. Souhan also says the team should replace Kyle Anderson with another three-point shooter to improve the offense, which has been the primary issue over the past three games.

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