The decline of Mike Conley is something that Minnesota Timberwolves fans have been acutely aware of this season. Likely in part due to dealing with various injury troubles, Minnesota Mike has not looked close to the player he was last season. Which is disappointing due to the quality of contributor Conley was for the vast majority of the year in 2023-24.
Despite playing in his 17th season last year, Conley was extremely effective as a distributor and as a scorer. He was lights-out as a catch-and-shoot guy, being able to be relied upon to make clutch shots, and he delivered time after time. Not only in the regular season, but in the playoffs as well. Many were astounded with how spry Mike looked, and he kept that level of production up for most of the season.
It rightfully gave many high hopes for Conley's potential before the current season began. Even if he was coming in at 37 years old, who cared about that number if he was going to keep playing at such a high level? And with most of the same players around him as last year, it seemed that having that roster consistency around him would help Mike to do that as well.
Then came the last week of September, and the Timberwolves' last-minute Karl-Anthony Towns trade. Now all of a sudden, Conley had multiple new players around him that he was going to have to learn how to play effectively with. That undoubtedly had an effect on how he was going to play headed into the season. Missing time early in the season due to injury did not help either.
Mike Conley will have to be the best version of himself in the playoffs
Now, with over half the regular season campaign behind us, it is safe to say Conley's overall level of play has been disappointing to say the least. He has not been nearly the rock-solid, steady contributor that he was nine months ago, and that has undoubtedly helped to shape Minnesota's season. Now, going forward, Mike is going to be a big key to how the Timberwolves perform in the playoffs.
Obviously, the role Conley is best in is operating as a more traditional point guard, organizing Minnesota's offense and being a reliable scorer off the catch. Perhaps the biggest question facing this team now will be whether Mike can reach that high level of play once again. As of this writing, he is shooting just 37% from the floor for the season.
If Conley can elevate his play once again and return to doing what he was doing a year ago, it could change the equation for this team. But if he continues to struggle the way he has been, the Wolves will need to get that production collectively out of other guys. It could be Donte DiVincenzo stepping up once he is back from injury, or it could be others rising to the challenge.
But at the end of the day, it remains abundantly clear how big of a key Conley's play is going to be for the Timberwolves. You would probably say that first and foremost, it will be the play of Minnesota's star players like Anthony Edwards that will determine how far they go, and that is mostly true. But after that, the play of supporting veterans like Mike Conley may be the next most important factor.