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Marc Gasol could be out for the year with a foot fracture, and the Memphis Grizzlies recently traded Jeff Green at the deadline. It appears like management has given up on this version of the team, and that is a mistake. Mike Conley is the man who must keep them afloat, and head coach Dave Joerger will have to lean on his point guard in the latter half of this season.
Conley was averaging 14.9 points, 6.1 assists, 1.2 steals in only 31.5 minutes per game before Friday night’s match, and he has an almost team-high PER of 19.1. Technically, James Ennis has the highest player efficiency rating on the Grizzlies with 23.4, but he has only seen 28 minutes of action this season.
Conley is the one who can help this team stay in playoff contention even without Gasol. He is shooting 35.9 percent from 3-point range, and the Grizzlies should rely on him a lot more out there. It is unfortunate that Gasol is dealing with such a serious injury, but it is crucial for Memphis that their franchise player get healthy. If that means missing the playoffs this year for a shot at next season’s title, then that is the best course of action. The Grizzlies added Chris Andersen and Lance Stephenson to the team before the trade deadline, and it seems like they are doubling down on their grit-and-grind style. That might be one too many knuckleheads on a single team, but we’ll see how this works out by the season’s end for Memphis.
Conley recently won the NBA Care’s community assist award for his charitable work and actions in January, and that displays what type of guy he is. The Grizzlies shouldn’t be afraid of giving their point guard heavy minutes during the stretch run, because he is capable of bearing the load.
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