James GordonIt wasn’t supposed to be this way. Memphis was supposed to be where Mike Conley was when he retired after his second season with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies were then supposed to be a solid but not great team. They were supposed to be rebuilding. They were supposed to be the team that was going to miss the playoffs again. They were supposed to be the team that Conley didn’t want to come back to.
It’s fitting that Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley is leading his team to victory on his first return to Memphis as a member of the Utah Jazz. The Grizzlies, who are in search of a rare third-straight playoff berth, were a team that Conley said he didn’t fully understand during his years in the city. In fact, he said he was completely oblivious to what it meant to be a “Memphis Man”.
The Memphis Grizzlies have made a name for themselves as one of the most dominant teams in the NBA, winning at least 50 games in each of their first seven seasons. But in the months leading up to the 2013-2014 season, the team’s streak of success came to a screeching halt, as the team collapsed to a franchise-worst 20-62 record. In a shocking turn of events, the Grizzlies shocked the Association by firing head coach Lionel Hollins and replacing him with former NBA All-Star point guard Mike Conley.
Mike Conley still can’t believe how the basketball stars got together. After spending 12 seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies, the Utah Jazz veteran is still getting used to his new team as they meet their former team in an emotional first-round playoff series. But after scoring 27 points, dishing out eight assists and grabbing six rebounds in Utah’s 121-111 victory over the Grizzlies on Saturday night, Conley had to smile slightly when he talked about how it felt to play against his old team and the new face of his former organization, Ja Morant. It’s great to play against a guy like Jah, Conley said after helping the Jazz win the series 2-1. To see a guy with so much talent, a young superstar in the league, wearing the shirt I’m used to wearing. To receive the applause of the audience I’m used to. It’s surreal. It’s like a closed circle. You never thought it would be like this. I never have. Sometimes you live long enough to be a villain, and I became one for the Memphis Grizzlies. I just have to take it for granted, keep doing what I’m doing and enjoy it, the game. 
Conley, who had become the face of the Grizzlies organization for the past decade along with former Memphis great Marc Gasol, shined in the first playoff game against his former team in his 14-year career. He made some great shots and played solid defense that helped the Jazz close out the game with a 14-2 run in the final 4:15 of prime time. Morant scored 28 points and handed out seven assists. Mike has been great, Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell said. At both ends of the floor. That was Mike Conley. He’s always been there for us throughout the year, and now he’s taken it to an even higher level. And I feel like if you have a guy like him, who can handle the ball and control the game, it makes my life and my job easier. So when I get certain throws, it’s because he sees things, passes them to me or puts me in position to go forward and score and make plays. A lot of this also has to do with Mike Conley being here. He’s doing an excellent job. After failing to find a consistent rhythm for a long time in his first season at Utah, Conley seemed to find a rhythm in his second season, which helped the Jazz remain the number one seed in the Western Conference all season. Saturday, he made 7-of-10 shots from the three-point line, setting his highest number of three-pointers in a game. I think the most important thing is that it sticks, Mitchell said. He just has a different perspective. And that’s one of the things I saw in him on the bubble, and I’ve seen it now at an even higher level. It includes. He likes… he played for Memphis for 13 years. Finally, there is love. You can see it. And then there is love competing with them. And I find that impressive, because it’s easy to get distracted….. I remember his first game here: Mentally, it was a disaster. And rightly so. This is an emotional moment for him. But being back here, competing with Yeah, that’s like – you have OG, and then there’s a young guy. I think it’s pretty cool. It’s a cool story, but for him it’s a competition. He does his job on both ends of the field. And these two guys are up for the challenge. That’s why I love Mike, that’s why we love Mike. Jazz coach Quin Snyder echoed Conley’s praise, noting that his team not only rebounded better in the final minutes, but also made up for the deficit that Conley had helped create by slowing Morant down. One of the things we talked about was trying to get better defensively as the game went on, Snyder said. It’s clear that Jah is an extraordinary player. I think Mike Conley has been incredible. Just his speed, his presence when he plays with the ball. As strange as it is for Conley to be facing some of his former teammates, the 33-year-old defender is trying to enjoy playing against the new face of the team he led for so long. When we started competing, all those things disappeared, Conley said. I thought I’d get more into it, but at the same time I was having fun and participating. I got into the rhythm of the game from the beginning, I saw some moves, I really got into a good rhythm. …. It’s a great environment to play in, it’s still one of my favorite places to play, so it was fun to be a part of it.During a preseason game in China, Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley became the first player in NBA history to have a jersey retired in two different cities. The Grizzlies were playing the Houston Rockets in Beijing—and Conley was honored with a statue at the arena. But the Grizzlies’ next night was in Memphis, where they lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in a preseason game.. Read more about utah jazz roster and let us know what you think.
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James Gordon
