The calf/Achilles issue that sidelined Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley for Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals hasn’t gone away — he’s listed as questionable for Game 1 of the Western finals. Conley will play on Wednesday, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link), but the team will keep a close eye on that injury going forward.
“It honestly depends on if you can get through the game without having any small setback,” Conley said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “You have some movements that really kind of jar it or cause the pain to go up really quickly and kind of stays there for a little while. Some games I get through the whole game and you don’t have any setback and so you just kind of keep building upward and forward. So I’m just trying to stack as many of those days together as I can.”
Keeping Conley healthy will be crucial for the Wolves as they look to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. In the series vs. Denver, the team had a +13.6 net rating in the 196 minutes he played, compared to a -6.7 mark in the 140 minutes he wasn’t on the floor.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- The early returns on their blockbuster trades for Rudy Gobert and Kyrie Irving weren’t great, but the Timberwolves and Mavericks saved those deals and raised their respective ceilings by returning to the trade market, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger points to Minnesota’s deal for Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dallas’ acquisitions of P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford as follow-up moves that made those original trades look better and helped propel the two teams to the Western Conference finals.
- When the Suns were preparing to fire Frank Vogel earlier this month, some of their players – including Kevin Durant – lobbied team owner Mat Ishbia to hire Chauncey Billups away from the Trail Blazers, sources tell Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (subscription required). There’s no indication that Portland would have let Billups get away, despite his uncertain long-term future with the franchise. In any case, the Suns’ decision-makers had already “zeroed in” on Mike Budenholzer by the time they let go of Vogel, Highkin says.
- Tim Kawakami of The Athletic evaluates the plausibility of several possible trade targets who might be on the Warriors‘ offseason wish list, ranging from the extreme long shots (like Paul George and Lauri Markkanen) to the more plausible (including perhaps Jarrett Allen and Brandon Ingram).