“They’re not gonna rook us” was one of the greatest rallying cries in the history of the franchise. They won two games at FedExForum and nearly won a third. The goal was simply to achieve everything they could. But once Parsons went down for good, nobody had any illusions that the Grizzlies were going to challenge for a championship. Like Gasol, Conley said he’d replay the final minutes more times than he'd like. It’s been such a pleasure to play with guys like that, knowing that not only myself but everyone else is laying it on the line. “I left everything I had out there and I know my teammates did the same.
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“It was a pleasure to play with a group that really leaves it out there like that,” he said. But in the wake of Thursday’s loss, Conley was less interested in hearing what other people said about him than he was in saying some things about his team. He has fought for the smallest scraps of recognition for ever so long. It must be satisfying for Conley to hear those sorts of compliments. But this kid has a high basketball IQ, he shoots it, he drives it, he passes, he runs his team, he’s incredible.” Everybody talks about point guards and they mention four or five guys and it’s always the same guys. He’s been the most underrated point guard in the league for a while. Said Popovich: “Mike Conley has always been a heck of a player, he has never gotten his due. He’s a big-time player that’s not afraid of the moment, that loves competition.” “I think he showed people in this playoffs. “Every night I would close my eyes and envision this from Mike Conley when I thought about our team,” Fizdale said. Conley scored another 26 points Thursday, the fifth straight game in which he scored at least 20 points. So the Grizzlies took on the Spurs with two rookies (Andrew Harrison and Wayne Selden) playing significant minutes, and with 40-year-old Vince Carter starting at the wing.Īnd the Grizzlies still gave the Spurs everything they could handle, in large part because Conley played the games of his life. Listen: Mike Conley has no regrets after game 6 loss to Spurs
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They are the better, deeper, more talented team.īeyond that, the Grizzlies were missing Tony Allen and Chandler Parsons, an original member of the Core Four and the max player who was supposed to put the Grizzlies over the top. The Spurs have now bounced the Grizzlies from the playoffs four times. And while neither person would reveal exactly what they said to the other, you can imagine it came from a place of deep mutual respect. He had a long talk with Mike Conley when the game was done. Popovich wasn’t just being nice when he said all that. “I’m seriously thrilled to make it through the first round.” “I’m thrilled we were able to win because if we played 10 times I think we’d each win five,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. So this one hurt more than it might have, precisely because the Grizzlies fought so hard for so long. The Spurs outscored the Grizzlies 22-8 down the stretch.
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View Gallery: Grizzlies vs Spurs Gallery April 27, 2017