Mike Conley is in the midst of his best stretch as a member of the Utah Jazz, and it comes at a time when the team desperately needs his production.
When the Utah Jazz traded for Mike Conley during the off-season, most people thought that they would be getting the third star that they craved.
Even though he has never been named an All-Star during his career, Conley certainly had at least earned the “star” label during his 12-year tenure with the Memphis Grizzlies. Many thought that he was a perfect fit for the Jazz and would help take them to the next level.
His first season with the Jazz hasn’t gone to plan, but as last night’s performance against the Celtics showed, Conley may have finally turned a corner.
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Conley and the Jazz walked into TD Garden last night with a lot to prove. They needed to show improvements and needed to show that they are capable of beating the elite teams in the league. Conley needed to show that his recent increase in production hasn’t been a fluke.
Right off the bat, Conley got to work for the Jazz. He came out firing and ended up with 25 points, three rebounds, five assists, three steals and six three-pointers on a night where Utah’s two top scorers in Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic combined for 19 points 5-24 shooting.
Utah has now won four games in a row, and Conley has looked excellent in all four games. He’s averaged 18.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists during this four-game stretch.
It’s easily been Conley’s best stretch of the season. He looks 100 percent healthy, he looks confident and he looks comfortable. It’s taken him some time to get acclimated, but it looks like the Jazz may finally be getting the Mike Conley they had been hoping for.
He looks like he’s having fun out there. His teammates were just as happy as he was after his star performance last night. The overall morale of the team is up right now and Conley has played a major part in that.
It’s also been one of Utah’s best stretches of the season. After previously losing four in a row following the All-Star break, the Jazz are rolling again, and have claimed the fourth seed. They sit with a record of 40-22 with 20 games left to play.
As the Jazz look to close the regular season strong and earn a top-four seed in the Western Conference, they’re going to need this version of Mike Conley. When he’s playing like this, the Jazz are very hard to beat.
Mike Conley and the Utah Jazz are back in action tonight against the Detroit Pistons at 5:00 MT. Let’s hope Conley has another performance like he had last night up his sleeve, and let’s hope the Jazz make it a five-game winning streak!