Time is now for Conley in Memphis
The Memphis Grizzlies are going to be competitive this year. They could be a legitimate Western Conference threat in the years to come. In order to get there, however, they will have to let their franchise point guard develop on the floor.
When the Grizz selected Mike Conley Jr. with the fourth pick in this year’s draft, they did it with the intention of Conley being The Man at the point as the franchise rebuilt. With the additions of Darko Milicic and Juan Carlos Navarro as well as coach Marc Iavaroni and complete health expected from Pau Gasol, Memphis will be much improved from the unit that lost 60 games a season ago. But with several far more powerful teams still hanging around the Western Conference (see: San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Utah, Denver), the Grizzlies will remain a ways away from being a serious contender.
Which makes it inexcusable that Damon Stoudamire is currently the starting point guard in Memphis.
Stoudamire is a 34-year-old with a reputation of misbehavior to go with his 12 years of NBA experience. He has been extremely mediocre over his two seasons in Memphis, averaging 11.7 points and 4.7 assists per game in 2005-06 and 7.5 points and 4.8 dimes per game last season. He has shot inside of 40 percent in each of the last three seasons. Not exactly mind-blowing numbers. Given his track record of forays outside the law, one can’t even say in good faith that Stoudamire brings leadership to the table. At this point, his upside is experience, plain and simple. That’s it.
Conley, on the other hand, can already do much of what Stoudamire can’t. He has incredible speed up and down the floor, an explosive first step and an excellent ability to penetrate off the dribble. That description doesn’t even encompass his wonderful court vision and his ability to score. Conley shot an astounding 51.8 percent from the floor last season at Ohio State while managing a 2.8:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He defends well, plays generally smart basketball and to my knowledge doesn’t have any drug convictions.
Undoubtedly, Conley’s numbers at the beginning will likely be a bit shy of what they were in college. He still needs to bulk up a bit and simply get used to the NBA game. But he is already capable of doing just about everything Stoudamire does, and, more significantly, his presence on the floor this year won’t come anywhere close to hurting the team in the short term as much as it will benefit the Grizzlies in the long term.
By starting Stoudamire this season, the Grizzlies gain very little. It’s hard to imagine him as a great mentor to Conley, and by starting the more experienced player, the Grizzlies gain how many wins? Two? Five? Whatever the number is, it certainly won’t be enough to make a significant difference. The Grizz aren’t in a win-now-or-else situation; quite the opposite. They are a team made up of developing youngsters in Darko Milicic, Rudy Gay, Hakim Warrick, Kyle Lowry and elder statesmen in Pau Gasol, Stromile Swift and Mike Miller of whom none is older than 27. Their point guard and floor leader for the foreseeable future – at least the part that might matter – is to be Mike Conley Jr. As such, he needs to be on the floor to build a rapport and progress right along with the first unit on this team. Having him start this year from the building will get him through that first year of trial by fire that makes those that follow so much easier.
Mike Conley Jr. is the exciting future of the Memphis Grizzlies franchise at point guard. Those Grizzlies are not winning an NBA championship this year. But giving Conley the chance to take his early lumps now will make that far more of a legitimate possibility in the years to come.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007 at 12:21 am and is filed under Taking It to the Rack, NBA Off-Season, 2007 NBA Draft, Mike Conley Jr., NBA Off-Season Moves, Marc Iavaroni, 2007-08 NBA Previews, 2007-08 NBA Season, Mike Miller, Rudy Gay, Darko Milicic, Pau Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, General NBA, San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Western Conference, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Blogroll.
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10 Responses to “Time is now for Conley in Memphis”
October 23rd, 2007 at 7:42 am
I think it’s a given that Stoudamire will not finish the season as a starter. I say somewhere around game 12-15, he’ll lose his starters job. Don’t forget my man, Kyle Lowry, either!
October 23rd, 2007 at 9:27 am
I thought Stoudemire said he wanted to be traded over the offseason, and if so, I’m not sure why the Grizz didn’t oblige. With JCN and now Conley on board, you’d think they would want to get rid of him. They should just buy him out and let him go to Houston to be their 9th point guard.
October 23rd, 2007 at 9:39 am
This blog shows a lack of understanding about the unique situation in Memphis. As the smallest market in the NBA with the worst attendance, Memphis can’t afford to take a season off for the 2nd year in a row. That alone makes Damon’s contributions to the team very valueable.
Also, while Conley may the future there is another PG in Memphis with only slightly more experience than Conley. As Jon said above Kyle Lowry has excited the Memphis fans and is a crowd favorite. I don’t see how Memphis can be competitive this season starting the player performing 3rd best at his position right now. Conley will have to beat out some players in practice and prove his ability on the court before the starting job is handed to him.
Finally, in your critcism of Damon you are being very unfair. You mention his disappointing numbers since arriving in Memphis but you neglect to mention his big shot ability that won many games for the team and you totally ignore his recovery from Patella Tendon surgery. That is a 2 yr recovery process and this is year 2. Damon has lost weight, worked on his game and is looking faster and sharper than he has since he was injured.
If Memphis falls out of playoff contention early then start Conley or Lowry and trade Damon but until that happens let the best man win the job and see what happens.
October 23rd, 2007 at 2:15 pm
I agree. It is time for Damon to go……….to the Cavs, lol. Kiddin’ aside, Damon does have to leave. Conley is there for a reason. And he should be the starter or at least split the minutes with Lowry. Damon is done, IMO. The Griz are rebuilding and Damon wasn’t feeling that, especially with Lowry and the new addition of Conley breathing down his neck. They couldn’t find any suitors for Damon. The Griz aren’t stuck with him because they can buy out his contract if he chooses to accept it. Jose Navarro will be a two guard or combo guard or off guard or something far away from the point. He’ll come in off the bench and start chuckin’.
October 23rd, 2007 at 4:16 pm
The best point guard in Memphis is not playing for the Grizz. He is playing for the Tigers. Derrick Rose.
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Will Gurner–Derrick Rose hasn’t proven anything but being able to play at the HS. He has to actually make it to the league to be the best point guard.
October 26th, 2007 at 8:50 am
Chipc3,
Much thanks for commenting and sharing your insight on the Grizz. Definitely made some points that forced me to think harder about the points I made. That said, a few points of note to ask you about:
While I recognize the attendance situation in Memphis now that you have called it to my attention, I question how much of a positive difference starting Stoudamire makes. Yes, they may win a few more games with the more experienced player out there, but how many? And are we really willing to give the fans of Memphis that little credit? Conley is an exciting player who was highly touted in high school and at Ohio State, and it would be my contention that his presence on the floor would be at least as much of a draw if not more than a Grizz team that wins a few more games with Damon than it does with Conley starting.
While I agree that in general, a player should have to win his starting job, it would seem evident at this point that the Grizzlies as currently constructed are not going to win an NBA championship — or even seriously contend — with a 34(and counting)-year-old Damon Stoudamire at this point (feel free to correct me if you think otherwise). Once you’re wiling to concede that, then I think the need to look to the future becomes immediate. If Conley — or even Lowry — is to be the future of this team, why stunt their growth by sitting them this year? Look to dump Stoudamire for whatever you can — or even keep him around off the bench if you think he can be a legitimate mentor, which I question — and let the two kids duke it out for the job long term.
I believe that this Memphis team can be a 7 or 8 seed in the playoffs, and I see them being in the race all year. That said, they won’t get out of the first round in the West, and it seems to me to be more of a wasted season to do that with Stoudamire than to let the youngsters develop on the floor as much as possible. I’m willing to give the general populous of fans enough credit to believe they will understand that, but I could certainly be wrong.
Once again, thanks a lot for taking the time to read and share your thoughts on this piece. I’d love to hear more from you.
-sw
October 26th, 2007 at 11:33 am
While it is easy to shrug off the attendance issue in Memphis if you don’t live there. As a
The fact that Iavaroni announced that Damon is the starting point guard right now with Kyle coming off the bench he is sending a big message that he is going to shoot for more than just a few wins this season. That announcement came the day after you and I discussed Conley’s pros and cons.
As for Damon and his age, he’s less than a year older than Steve Nash. He’s healthy for the first time since he arrived in Memphis and he isn’t going to be playing 35 minutes a game (unlike Steve Nash). He will most likely average fewer minutes than his backup Kyle Lowry. Damon is also the only player with an outside shot.
Here is the major point as well. Mike Conley isn’t the backup point guard. He is 3rd string. He doesn’t run the offense well yet. He doesn’t have a good understanding defense in the NBA and he has absolutely no outside shot. If he addresses these problems and improves then he will be able to get on the court. Until then he is not going to produce wins for the team, in fact he will cost them wins.
If you see the Grizz being a 7 or 8 seed then the team can’t afford to throw away games on a rookie PG who can’t shoot, can’t defend and hasn’t shown the ability to run the offense yet. He will be able to do all these things but he has to earn his playing time and right now he hasn’t done it.
October 26th, 2007 at 11:35 am
I messed up that opening paragraph. I meant to say as a Memphian the attendance issue is huge as is the fact that the team competes with a college basketball team that is among the best in the nation. The team can’t afford to lose 4 or 5 games just to make some player fans feel good about their boy.
October 28th, 2007 at 11:22 am
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