Mike Conley is no Vince Carter
Mike Conley Jr. (NBA)After the Grizzlies gave up more points to the Knicks (132) than they had fans in the FedEx Forum stands (a solid 89, maybe 91), coach Marc Iavaroni had a lot of criticism to spread around, and some of it landed right on Mike Conley‘s head.
“He’s got to play harder,” Iavaroni was quoted in the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “When he plays hard he’s a good player. When he doesn’t, he’s below average.”
Conley did admit he’s been playing with less confidence, and his 5.3 points (31.6% FG’s, 8% from deep) and 3.8 assists per game isn’t convincing anyone he needs to be the starter in Memphis. Iavaroni has already been juggling the PG minutes between Conley, Kyle Lowry and O.J. Mayo (not much tick for Javaris Crittenton), and if Conley doesn’t step up, he’ll be out of a job.
What does Mike Conley have to do to turn himself into a solid NBA starting point guard?
Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal
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November 13th, 2008 at 9:42 am
F.L.A.S.H. says:
call kevin pritchard to nag him about swapping him for travis outlaw so he can play with GO again
November 13th, 2008 at 9:47 am
E$ says:
Aaron Brooks is alot better
November 13th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Michorizo says:
…if he doesnt play hard, SIT HIM. Memphis is overloaded at the guard position anyways. Teach him now that effort needs to be there everynight while he’s young.
November 13th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Timmy D says:
It’s not that he isnt playing hard he just isnt very good. He cant shoot whatsoever and has problems finishing at the rim, he airballed two wide open threes against the knicks. And if you look at his whole career he has never been an elite scoring threat even in high school he didnt score that much. And in college he was just too fast for other people and never could shoot that well either. If Xavier would have just fouled in that NCAA tourney game no way Conley is picked 4th overall and he probable would have returned to school. It was a bad pick and he is a really nice kid and good person but not an elite level NBA player.
November 13th, 2008 at 10:50 am
kevin k says:
most overrated player that got attention through Greg Oden throughout High School and College…
November 13th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Scott says:
How soon until either a) an Ohio State curse is rumored, cuz between Conley and GO, they ain’t doin so well. And b) people start claiming that Conley is only good with GO on his squad.
I never really understood the hype, but then I didn’t understand why the Grizz drafted him with Lowry in the wings.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Big Sia says:
What the Fuck does this have to do with VC?
SMH
November 13th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Kudabeen says:
Decent Ball handler, but he shouldn’t have been a lottery pick. He isn’t better than Lowry. Javaris Crittenton isn’t getting a look. I think Lowry/Crittenton would be a better rotation at point unless they are going to bring in a more seasoned PG that can show them some things for cheap (Randy Livingston anyone?)…
November 13th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Kobeef says:
Because he played with Oden his whole career you had to wonder if Conley would have had as much press if he was just another high school guard on a decent team. He played well in college and tested well at the combine but in the NBA he’s looking out of place.
The rumored trade for Outlaw seems stupid to me – Outlaw is 6’9 and an athletic freak who can actually shoot. Conley is like 6’0 and hasn’t really shown he is good at anything yet. If Portland really wants to move Batum, Outlaw or Webster there has to be a better option that Conley.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Jan says:
@Big Sia:
I guess even when Vince is not playing hard (which we’ve all seen before) he is still a good (above average) player…
November 13th, 2008 at 11:37 am
turambur says:
@Big Sia
The VC reference is that Vince can coast and still play at an All-Star level, but Conley needs to bust his ass every day to just play at an NBA level; thus, Conley is no VC.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:45 am
doc says:
Shit, Conley aint no Kyle Lowry, he cant hold Vince jockstrap.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:46 am
doc says:
Conley aintnoKyle Lowry,never mind Vince.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Big T says:
Mike Conley is and has been below average dating back to his stint at Ohio State… Kyle Lowry should’ve got the knod over him a while back.
November 13th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Buffalo Brave says:
What does he need to do to become a viable nba player?
Get traded to portland.
Man i wish i was Oden’s best friend.
November 13th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Sheedfan87 says:
That Conley for Outlaw deal never made sense to me as a Portland fan. Outlaw is one of the 10, possibly 5 best bench players in the league. Although he’s been in the league 6 or 7 years now, he is still young and super-talented. I understand Conley and Oden are friends but let’s not set up our roster to get the big fella some buddies. Outlaw and Fernandez is a deadly wing combination off the bench, and Conley doesn’t seem like much of an upgrade if any at all over Blake/Rodriguez at the 1.
November 13th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
XZoom says:
Yea like anyone on that team gives a crap what Mike Macoroni says. Dude is going to be fired real soon.
November 13th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Dave says:
Conley only needs to one thing to be a good point in this league – be more assertive.
He has the talent, he has the skills and the physical ability … he just doesn’t apply those skills well enough.
He’s content to sit in the corner and stay away from the action. Can’t fulfill his potential playing that way.