- LARRY KUZNIEWSKI
- Mike Conley’s controlling the game on both ends more than ever for the Grizzlies this season.
Perhaps, from a ready-to-play standpoint, Mike Conley came into the league too early after one year at Ohio State. Perhaps a rookie injury and rookie head coach didn’t help. But, after fitful development, Conley has emerged in a career-best fifth season, at age 24, as a steady and often dynamic floor general for the Grizzlies.
Conley’s floor game is in some rare company this season. He leads the NBA in steals per game at 2.5, bumping his average up from 1.8 last season despite no increase in playing time. At the break, he’s the only point guard in the NBA who actually has more steals (79) than turnovers (77), with Chris Paul — the NBA’s best true point guard — as the only other player at the position even close to that unusual achievement. And Paul and Toronto’s Jose Calderon are the only point guards with both a higher assist ratio and lower turnover ratio than Conley.
Defensively, Conley is still prone to one-on-one struggles, especially against bigger, stronger opponents, but these mismatches seem less frequent or noticeable this season, and the Grizzlies have been four points better per 100 possessions defensively with Conley on the floor.
