Ranking each Utah Jazz player in season-opening win

6. Evaluating Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley against the Thunder

Stats for Mike Conley:

• 25 minutes
• 10 points
• 4-for-12 from the field, 2-for-7 from three
• Zero rebounds
• Four assists
• Two steals
• Zero blocks
• One turnover
• Four fouls

Utah Jazz floor general Mike Conley was the first to settle some nerves among the home crowd by draining a 3-pointer from near the top of the key, giving his squad a 3-2 lead. Moments later, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound veteran let onlookers know that his pick-and-roll connection with Rudy Gobert is as clean and proficient as ever.

Then Conley shined for a spell in driving the lane and finding open pull-up jumpers.

The fact that Conley committed only one turnover in 25 minutes was notably impressive, considering he was the one who initiated a bulk of the Jazz halfcourt attacks. But despite his ultra-smooth start, when he scored or assisted on nine of the team’s first 13 points, his shooting touch cooled off.

And Conley was a bit more foul-prone than usual, which he’ll need to correct to earn a second All-Star nod this go-round after the first selection of his career last season.

Player grade: 85 (B)