The J-Notes
Fansided

Utah Jazz: Most intriguing individual matchups series – Northwest Division

By Jared Woodcox

Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)
Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 5
Next
MEMPHIS, TN – MARCH 5: Mike Conley #11 of the Memphis Grizzlies greets Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers before the game on March 5, 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 5: Mike Conley #11 of the Memphis Grizzlies greets Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers before the game on March 5, 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) /

Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard vs. Mike Conley

It’s well known among Utah Jazz fans that Damian Lillard has a reputation of torching their team. Perhaps it has something to do with going up against the team that’s based in the same state where he played his college ball at Weber State. But regardless of whether there’s truth to that or not, Lillard has simply thrived against the Jazz.

However, this upcoming season, he could be in for more of a tough time, as rather than going up against Ricky Rubio, he’ll now be facing off against Mike Conley, who has quite frankly given Dame some trouble in the past.

Last season, in the three games between Portland and Memphis in which Conley played (he sat out the April 3rd contest between the two teams), Mike did exceptionally well against the heralded All-Star. Not only did Conley’s far outmatched Grizzlies team win two out of the three bouts, but Mike gave Dame trouble in many regards.

In the first contest, Lillard logged just 14 points on a horrendous outing of 4-of-18 from the field and 1-of-5 from deep. Meanwhile, Conley went off in that bout for 23 points on 50 percent shooting while adding six rebounds, six assists and a mark of plus-19 compared to Dame’s minus-4.

In the next, Lillard managed a solid outing and earned a W for his Portland Team, but he was a minus-11 on the game while Conley was a plus-6 in a defeat that likely rested more on his teammates than on himself. Finally, in the third contest in which the two faced off last year, Dame was pretty solid despite a 30 percent night from three and a mark of minus-10 as he put up 24 points and eight assists.

But what did Conley pull off that evening? Oh, just a casual 40 points while shooting 66.7 percent from the field and knocking down 6-of-7 three-point attempts.

In other words, not only does Conley present a tough matchup for Dame as it is, but now that he’s on what figures to be an incredibly competitive Jazz team, this will be a battle of two dominant point guards on a pair of teams with their eyes set on the highest of goals in the Western Conference. Dame is a multi-time All-Star whereas Conley has been snubbed several times. That should certainly fuel Conley and, combining that with past results, should make this a jaw-dropping individual matchup for Jazz fans to circle on the calendar and look forward to.

Next. Utah Jazz: Has Joe Ingles moved ahead of Gordon Hayward?. dark

Scheduled Contests:

  • 12/26 Portland at Utah
  • 2/1 Utah at Portland
  • 2/7 Portland at Utah
  • 4/2 Utah at Portland
Home/Jazz News