The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz: One eye-opening stat from each major free agent signee

By Jared Woodcox

Las Vegas, NV - JULY 7: Royce O'Neal, Mike Conley, and Emmanuel Mudiay of the Utah Jazz look on during the game against the Miami Heat during Day 3 of the 2019 Las Vegas Summer League on July 7, 2019 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
Las Vegas, NV - JULY 7: Royce O'Neal, Mike Conley, and Emmanuel Mudiay of the Utah Jazz look on during the game against the Miami Heat during Day 3 of the 2019 Las Vegas Summer League on July 7, 2019 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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MEMPHIS, TN – MARCH 20: Mike Conley #11 of the Memphis Grizzlies looks on against the Houston Rockets on March 20, 2019 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN – MARCH 20: Mike Conley #11 of the Memphis Grizzlies looks on against the Houston Rockets on March 20, 2019 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) /

3.45

With the addition of Mike Conley, much has been made about the improvement he’ll represent over Ricky Rubio in terms of his shooting, shot creation and defense. All of these are absolutely true and represent a large upgrade for the Jazz at the point guard position.

But another area where Ricky Rubio often struggled was in taking care of the ball. As a member of the Utah Jazz, Ricky was notorious for turning the ball over as he notched 2.6 turnovers per game, second most on the team. He also had a turnover percentage of 12.7, tied for the highest on the team among players who appeared in at least 15 games.

In other words, turning the ball over was a frequent problem for Ricky and one of several reasons why Utah’s offense struggled to reach elite status with Rubio at the point. Enter Mike Conley and the number I’ve chosen to represent for him, which is last season’s assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.45. Which is to say that for every one turnover, Conley notched 3.45 assists.

How good is that mark? Well, when comparing him to NBA players who appeared in at least 35 games last season, Conley finished 13th in the league. That’s pretty good, but it might not blow you away, right? OK, well how about this?

Of those 12 players above Conley, the one with the highest usage percentage was Jeff Teague at 18.6. Conley’s usage percentage? Oh, you know, just a casual 26.2 (gasp). In other words, the number of players who had a better assist-to-turnover ratio than Conley at a higher usage rate (or even at a usage rate within the same ballpark, for that matter) was exactly zero.

What does this mean? It means that Conley had the ball in his hands a ton last season as the Memphis Grizzlies floor general. And for how much he had control of the rock, he turned the ball over exceptionally rarely while racking up a solid chunk of assists. For comparison, Ricky Rubio had a ratio of 2.31, well below Conley’s, at a usage rate of 22.1, which is quite a bit lower as well.

Outside of the well-known shooting, creating and defensive positives that Conley brings, his insertion into the starting lineup instead of Rubio should be exhilarating for Jazz fans largely due to the fact that he takes extremely good care of the ball. The Jazz ranked 27th in the NBA last season in turnovers per game, but having Conley (not to mention overall better spacing) should help alleviate a lot of that issue in a major way.

That in turn will give the Jazz more opportunities and, considering their heightened shooting, should subsequently lead to a far more prolific offense. Conley’s ability to take care of the ball will be pivotal for a Jazz squad that struggled in that area from the top down last season.

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