Jazz Fans Have Nothing To Worry About After Conley’s Poor Start

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – There are good and bad things to look at with Mike Conley’s five-point, one made bucket performance in the Jazz season-opening win against the Thunder.

The bad is that this performance is arguably the worst in his decade-plus NBA career. Looking at the bright side – it’s likely Conley won’t have an outing as bad as that ever again.

Conley joined the Jazz via a trade from the Memphis Grizzlies and is set to make $66 million over the next two years.

We’ll take an opening night win however we can get it, but the feeling that Jazz fans gave me at the end of that game will never be forgotten! #notetaken pic.twitter.com/9mlJMh5xJJ

— Mike Conley (@MCONLEY10) October 25, 2019

The opening night victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder was led by Donovan Mitchell’s 32-point, 12 rebound performance. Conley has talent around him and won’t have to be the leading scorer for the Jazz every night.

There are times when Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles or other Jazz players will have an off night and it will be Conley who leads the team in scoring and the win.

In short, there is little to worry about Conley’s future with the Jazz and this bad outing was just a blip on the radar, according to KSL Unrivaled.

Don’t Laugh, A New Uniform Is An Adjustment

Scott Mitchell, host of Unrivaled, has been a professional athlete. He told his co-host Alex Kirry that playing in a new uniform is a huge adjustment.

“It is the biggest adjustment you have when you make the transition from one team to another. I have been there. Quarterbacks have a red jersey [in practice]. Then all of a sudden you get out there for the first game and say, ‘oh, I gotta wear this?’,” said Mitchell.

There is something to be said about feeling comfortable when you suit up to play. Conley has always worn a Memphis Grizzlies jersey so perhaps it was jarring for him to be in a new uniform, new arena and new city.

“This is an odd thing and is probably one of the things that stand out to you most to you as a player when you make the transition from one color to another,” Mitchell added. “You have to get used to when you go to a new team, especially when you have been at one team for a long time.”

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Athletes are known for being peculiar and superstitious so maybe it did get in Conley’s head a bit.

The most logical reason for Conley’s struggle is that he is playing on a new team and his role is different than what he is used to.

This is Donovan Mitchell’s team and he will lead the way, according to Unrivaled. Conley is not necessarily a secondary player, but he is not the leader of this team and won’t be required to be at his best for every Jazz win.

Having an off night with the Jazz, like this opener, doesn’t mean the team is going to take the loss, because there is enough talent to go around, the duo assured fans.