Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Mike Conley smiled, raised his hands to the sky and began waving for the sold-out Vivint Arena crowd to cheer louder and louder.
On a rough night, Conley made sure to soak up that moment.
His made free throw with 2.1 seconds left sealed the 100-95 season-opening win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, giving him his first win in a Utah Jazz jersey.
But that wasn’t the only reason for the exaggerated celebration. For Conley, after a 1 of 16 night, it was nice just to see the ball go in the hoop.
“I'm a big believer in just getting a rhythm and I want that to carry over to the next game,” Conley said. “I wanted to get to the free-throw line somehow and knock down a couple. ... I'm a confident guy, I'm still confident and looking forward to the next one.”
The next one comes in Los Angeles against the Lakers on Friday (8:30 p.m., ESPN). And Conley’s hoping to show that him shooting 6.25% — or just a little lower than his career 44% average — was nothing more than a fluke.
“I was a little bit confused,” Conley said. “I was like, ‘I don't know what else to do. I gotta get a layup or something because it's just in and out, in and out.’”
Conley shot poorly, but he didn’t necessarily play badly. The looks were there; they just didn’t fall. His normally reliable off-hand floater failed him as he went 1 of 6 from inside the paint, and was 0 for 6 on 3-pointers.
He couldn’t quite explain why the shots didn’t go in, so instead, he simply laughed it off. It was just one of those nights.
“Even a lot of shots in the paint, they all felt good, but they were short,” Conley said. “So I might have been too excited for the first game or something but if I'm a betting man I probably won't do that again.”
Conley’s struggles did provide an opportunity for the Jazz’s other new point guard to step up.
Emmanuel Mudiay scored 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting and five assists in 23 minutes. The former lottery pick relentlessly attacked the rim and put pressure on the OKC defense. Eight of his 11 shot attempts came in the restricted area and the mid-range game that he often fell in love with while in New York was mostly gone.
“He was good all night, man,” Conley said. “He was really good. That's what we talked about a lot in the preseason was him just trying to get downhill. He's a big-body guard and can finish over big guys, can finish over little guys. We need that from him. When he comes to the game he's got to be aggressive, he's got to be looking to make plays and I think he did a great job.”
Mudiay came to Utah as a risk-free developmental project. He wanted to learn from a coaching staff like Utah’s and the Jazz had no problem taking on someone with his type of talent.
Upon arriving in Utah, Mudiay talked about wanting to become a smarter player, a more willing defender, and helping a winning team. Turns out, that wasn’t just lip service. There were some adventurous moments for Mudiay in his Jazz debut, but he mostly was controlled with the ball in his hands, making plays at the rim, and was good defensively, too.
Mudiay was in during the entirety of Utah’s 17-4 run in the fourth quarter that turned the game, scoring four points and dishing out an assist in the key stretch.
“Emmanuel competed,” Jaz coach Quin Snyder said. “He defended, tried to do everything that we're asking him to do. That's frankly all that I would ask of him. So it was good to see him be rewarded for, I think, the mindset that he’s cultivating.”
Mudiay, though, gave the credit to Snyder for helping him with that mindset and making him a more confident player.
“He's encouraging me — and not just me but every single one of these guys in the locker room — to have confidence and go out there," Mudiay said.
