The saying around the Timberwolves’ locker room is consistently that Karl-Anthony Towns has sacrificed more than any player on Minnesota’s roster.
Coach Chris Finch states that whenever the opportunity arises, and Towns is quick to echo the sentiment. Yes, Towns – sidelined for the next few weeks, at minimum, with a torn meniscus – had to switch positions because of Rudy Gobert’s arrival and cede a few shots because of Anthony Edwards’ arrival.
It’s only natural for Minnesota to praise one of its star players for giving an inch or a foot in the middle of his supposed prime, because that’s what’s best for the team at large. That’s an unexpected sacrifice in the middle of your career.
But don’t let it cast a shadow on the veteran point guard who’s giving up just as much – at least – simply because that’s what’s expected.
Mike Conley was named an all-star for the first time in his career during the 2020-21 campaign, when he averaged 16 points and six assists for the top team in the Western Conference while shooting 41 percent from distance. Conley suffered a hamstring injury in the ensuing playoffs, which potentially cost Utah a shot at a deep postseason run.
The Jazz were ousted in the semifinals of the West playoffs that season, and in the first roundof the next. As a result, Gobert and Donovan Mitchell were shipped out of Utah for loads of draft picks, among other assets.
That left Utah with loads of young players, picks and no sturdy direction. But still present was Conley, who quickly moved from star guard to savvy vet.
He handled the transition with ease. His mastery of the game allowed the young players around him to find their respective footings and blossom. Lauri Markkanen became an all-star. Walker Kessler developed into a Rookie of the Year candidate. Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson scored with relative ease. Everyone appeared to be the best versions of themselves as Utah elbowed its way firmly into the West’s playoff picture.
That required sacrifice from Conley, whose point and shot totals precipitously dipped in the name of team success. The guard has achieved the same result since being dealt to Minnesota 13 months ago.
He knows how to impact the game in ways beyond shot attempts. Many of those around him do not, so it behooves the team for Conley to do more with less so others can do more with more. For outsiders, that sacrifice is viewed as decline.
It’s one thing if Towns dips from 24 points to 22 on one fewer shot attempt per game. That’s what happens when you’re surrounded by more talent. That’s part of winning.
That sacrifice was awarded with another all-star selection this winter.
Conley’s usage number (which estimates the percentage of a team’s possessions a player uses while on the floor) dipped to just 15.2 percent this season. That’s easily the lowest of his career, and a number that sits below those belonging to Gobert and Jaden McDaniels.
Conley’s decreasing numbers are treated from the outside as a sign of age. He’s 36 years old, of course. Obviously, he’s not the same player he was just three short seasons ago. That’s what the numbers say. The contract extension he inked recently aligns with that more of a solid player than a really good one.
Which makes sense. After all, heading into the past week, Conley hadn’t scored 20 points in a single game this season.
But a closer look reveals that’s because he hasn’t been asked to do so. Conley has – by his own admission and, sometimes to the chagrin of Finch – passed up his own offense in the name of movement of ball and bodies. If he has a good look in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock, he’s likely to pass it up to find a teammate and serve as a prime example of at least trying to turn a good shot into a great one. He truly believes that sacrifice is required for Minnesota’s offense to make a leap toward championship caliber.
That has, indeed, been a sacrifice of his own offense. Because as this past week has cemented, Conley still can score. The guard, who’s shooting a nuclear 44 percent from deep this season, is averaging 24 points a game over Minnesota’s last two games – both victories.
“It’s just that time of year we’re in, we’ve got a bunch of guys in and out of the lineup, Finchy has asked all of us guards to be more aggressive, and guys were finding me in spots to make plays and knock down the shots,” Conley told reporters after Minnesota’s win Saturday in Utah, in which he scored 24 points. “So I was getting great looks because of those guys. Got out in transition a few times and got real comfortable after that.”
This timing is a perfect storm of sorts for Conley, who had already planned to pick up his offensive aggression in the latter stages of the campaign. He knows he has to be a legitimate scoring threat come playoffs, when opponents load up to stop Anthony Edwards and Towns.
Pair that with the absence of Towns and, even Saturday, Gobert, and Conley’s offensive production has gone from a want to a need.
“When I’m running off pindowns, I know it’s for me to shoot the ball,” Conley said.
Over its past two games, Minnesota is scoring 122.8 points per 100 possessions – one of the team’s best mini stretches of offense all season. That this stretch is coinciding with Conley flashing the form – and, perhaps more importantly, the aggression – he possessed in Utah and Memphis hardly feels like a coincidence.
The game of the guard who has sacrificed in silence over the past year is starting to speak loudly.
“It’s giving me a good rhythm to be aggressive and look for your shot more and try to get to the paint more and get to the free-throw line. It’s not a coincidence that I’m getting to the free-throw line now more than I have the last couple months,” Conley said. “That’s going to continue and hopefully it helps me and everybody catch a good rhythm going into the playoffs.”
