Throughout much of the regular season, I thought Mike Conley's days as a quality rotational player were over. I was far from the only observer who thought this was the end of the road for Conley; just about every fan and Minnesota Timberwolves media member believed this to be the case.
Conley's advantage creation took another step back, and his shooting fell off a cliff. This led him to be out of the rotation from February 24 to March 22. There's no shame in this; he's 38 years old after all. However, the playoffs (and the very end of the regular season) have shown that Conley can still be a legitimate contributor on a contending team.
Conley's averages of 4.4 points, 3 assists, and 1.6 rebounds don't jump off the page. Anyone who's watched the Wolves in the playoffs, though, could tell you that Conley has uplifted the team. He is shooting 46.7 percent from beyond the arc (13 percent higher than he shot in the regular season), has provided the Wolves' offense with a stabilizing playmaking presence, and played remarkably good defense.
Game 1 of the Wolves' second-round series against the San Antonio Spurs was the highlight of his playoffs thus far. Conley notched 12 points (shooting 4-for-7 from deep range), dished out six assists, and played solid defense.
Mike Conley has been a positive contributor in the playoffs
While Game 1 may have been the highlight of Conley's playoffs, he's truly been playing at a high level since Game 4 of the first-round after Donte DiVincenzo and Anthony Edwards suffered injuries. From this point on, Conley has averaged 22 minutes, 7 points, and 4.3 assists.
He started in the past three games due to the team's injuries. With Edwards back in the fold and Ayo Dosunmu returning to action, it remains to be seen if Conley will continue to start.
Nevertheless, being able to step in and provide quality minutes is incredibly impressive given what we had seen from Conley throughout the year. On top of not playing for a stretch in the regular season during Games 2 and 3 of the first-round Conley played just 4:39 minutes.
While Conley didn't play for a significant chunk of the regular season, Chris Finch always held him in high regard. Finch even went as far as saying it feels like a crime against humanity not to play Conley. This comment was widely laughed at, but Conley's recent stretch in the playoffs proves why Finch trusts him so much.
If the Spurs ramp up the ball pressure, I think the Wolves will continue to lean on Conley.
It's doubtful that Conley will continue to play 20-plus minutes a game with Ayo back. Regardless, it's fair to expect him to have some role in the Wolves' rotation, and it's nice knowing he can still provide quality minutes if needed. Without a doubt, Conley's playoff impact has been a pleasant surprise for Timberwolves fans.
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