Getting older in the NBA is not exactly a walk in the park. Some guys are able to play well into their 40s a la Vince Carter or LeBron James, but the reality is that most players never reach that point in this league. The NBA is as young as it's ever been, and the Minnesota Timberwolves came into the current season as one of 11 oldest squads in the league.
One of the players driving that number up is Mike Conley, who turned 37 years old right before the start of the season. In his second season with the Timberwolves last year, Minnesota Mike enjoyed one of his best campaigns in the latter half of his career. He shot 44% from three and averaged 5.9 assists per outing while helping the Wolves to the Western Conference Finals as the full-time starting point guard.
This season, things have changed quite a bit for Conley. He has not looked nearly as comfortable as last year, shooting a much lower percentage from the floor and showing his age more frequently. That development led to Chris Finch moving him to the bench in favor of Donte DiVincenzo, at least up until DiVo's unfortunate injury.
Now, in the midst of a changing role, Mike seems to still have a good perspective on how he can help the team. Conley recently sat down with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and gave his honest thoughts on adjusting to coming off the bench.
Conley spoke on adjusting to his new role
"It’s been unique with the different lineups," Conley said. "With KAT here, I had the ball a little bit more because he doesn’t bring it up as much. With Julius here, he has the ball a lot. I find myself being in the corners and trying to space in places. Throughout the game, I realize I haven’t even broken the paint or made a play for anybody the entire time I’ve been out there."
It must feel weird for a guy so used to being a central part of his team's offensive attack through the years to suddenly be a non-factor at times. Us outsiders have certainly noticed these kinds of moments for Mike throughout games this season, but it doesn't seem like Conley is letting himself get down about it.
"From this point on, I’m trying to be more aggressive and assertive," he said. "It doesn’t mean I shoot it a bunch of times. It means that I try to make situations happen by getting into the paint and pushing the tempo by being more aggressive."
This is basically the perfect perspective to take if you are in Conley's situation. He recognizes that him looking to take a bunch of shots is not the way he is going to make his impact felt the most. By moving the ball, pushing in transition and finding his teammates, Mike is still going to be able to be a positive for this team going forward.