Apr 22, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) and Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) during game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at FedExForum. Memphis Grizzlies beat Portland Trail Blazers 97 – 82 Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
I was watching Memphis vs. Portland in Game 2 with my girlfriend, when a broadcaster went barefoot to detail the pain Mike Conley is dealing with in his foot. I explained to her that the Grizzlies point guard is dealing with a foot injury that can be described as having a golf ball in his foot. She was confused as to why someone would want to play with that pain.
Why would Mike Conley want to play with this pain?
Because this is the NBA playoffs and the Grizzlies need everything Conley has, injured foot and all, to reach the NBA Finals. He’s nowhere near 100 percent healthy—even 85 percent might be a stretch. The injury would require a normal person to have a walking boot on and be immobilized. Not Conley though, he’s on the court blazing. He knows his team needs him. Conley’s injury is on a part of the foot where injections aren’t possible. He either has to let the pain affect his game or ignore it. He’s ignoring it.
The most striking thing about the first two games of the Memphis-Portland series is the abuse Conley has been afflicting on Damian Lillard. The All-Star has been stripped down to James Harden level in the 2013 playoffs thanks to Conley. Let’s remember that Lillard received a call from Adam Silver as an All-Star replacement while Conley’s phone remained silent.
In Game 1, the Grizzlies were -14.5 per 100 possessions with Lillard on the floor. It was -17.4 in Game 2. Conley’s defense has been impressive. He’s been a good defender throughout his eight seasons, but the fact that he’s clamping Lillard while being hobbled is even more impressive. The Blazers point guard has yet to shoot over 31 percent from the floor in the first two games, looking like a shell of himself from last year’s playoff run. Conley is forcing Lillard into tough spots and even the shots that go in for Lillard are absurdly hard.
In the above, Lillard’s objective is to get to the rack. Conley is aware that Marc Gasol (former DPOY) is lurking at the rim, so he allows him some space to get to the rim. Conley stays attached to Lillard’s side and is in perfect position to defend Lillard’s pull-up jumper that misses the rim. Not only is Conley’s defense top notch, his basketball IQ and understanding of where his teammates are on the court supersedes anything else.
As you can see in the above, Conley does an excellent job of going under the screen and recovering quickly enough to contest the Lillard triple. With Conley and Gasol tag teaming Lillard at the rack, the Blazers guard has done his fair share of jump shooting. Lillard is averaging nearly nine pull-up jumpers per game, shooting 5.9 percent (no typo) on them. His three-point shooting has been abysmal this series, shooting under 10 percent.
The Blazers 2013 folk hero has been turned into a puppet. He can’t find any room at the rim or on the perimeter and it’s being caused by a man with a golf ball in his foot.
Flip the script to offense and Conley is still terrorizing Lillard. In 26.5 minutes per game, Conley is averaging 17 points and 3.5 assists on a 55/40/89 shooting split. Maybe Lillard is exhausting himself on offense and slacking off on defense, but it’s a reason why his team is down 0-2 heading into Game 3.
In this play, the Grizzlies point uses a nice hesitation move to catch Nic Batum in a bad position and blows by him. Instead of trying to defend Conley, Lillard opts to try to force a charge which Conley easily puts to dust. I’d always rather see a player go straight up and try to defend rather than take a charge.
This play blows my mind. How is Conley able to completely stun Lillard on a hard cut towards the basket? The move leaves Lillard on the floor. To make things worse, this was the first play of Game 2, right after the Grizzlies won the tip. It’s remarkable that Conley can do this to Lillard considering his health.
Two things on this play. First, it’s a bad idea to go under a screen against a player that shoots a career 38 percent from deep. Second, Lillard lazily goes under the screen and never makes a real attempt to defend Conley’s shot that finds twine. Someone let Lillard know that this is the playoffs please. Compare this to the play above when Conley goes under a screen to contest Lillard’s three and notice the difference in effort.
It’s amazing to watch someone of Lillard’s caliber be gutted by an injured player. Maybe the most embarrassing part is that Lillard looks the part of a player that doesn’t want it as bad as the guy across from him.
Conley has every reason to play like an injured man, but he’s been Superman on the court. He deserves to be celebrated, no matter how far the Grizzlies go in the playoffs. The Grizzlies are all about toughness, grit, and grind. Conley is embodying that spirit and then some with his performance so far in the first-round. Instead of trashing Lillard for his poor play, let’s celebrate Conley’s absurd performance, even though it continues to be undervalued, like always.
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