CHICAGO - Even at age 32, the Utah Jazz believed that Mike Conley Jr. was still good enough to steer their ship that is already loaded with the All-Star tandem of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.
And that is why the Jazz traded for Conley last July, gave up four players, and absorbed a fat contract that pays the former Memphis Grizzly $32.5 million this season and $34.5 million in 2020-21.
The return of that investment has been huge.
Not only did the Jazz immediately contend for a playoff berth long before the pandemic arrived, Conley's smarts and steady hands on the wheel perfectly complemented Mitchell, a streak-shooting and sometimes erratic scorer.
Before the coronavirus lockdown, Conley appeared in 47 regular season games and averaged 14.4 points, 4.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds per.
The long layoff allowed his old knees to rest and heal and he emerged as a better playmaker during the bubble's seeding games, raising his numbers to 18.5 points and five assists a game, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
The Jazz were ready for the playoffs, secure in the knowledge that they stockpiled enough ammo to make noise in a talent-laden Western Conference.
And then Conley left the NBA premises yesterday for the birth of his third child.
This is one of the limitations of Zoom technology. It can't substitute for the sheer joy of hearing your kid wail after birth and the pride of cutting that warm, blood-soaked umbilical cord with a pair of shiny, sanitized scissors.
No one knows how long Conley will stay with his family in Columbus, Ohio but per league protocol, assuming he tests negative for COVID-19 for seven days while outside the NBA bubble in Orlando, he will only quarantine for four days upon returning.
That means he would miss at least two games of the Utah-Denver series. That means a 2-0 series lead for the Nuggets.
Conley is only 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds. But it's not easy to replace him on short notice. Even Einstein would struggle learning the entire Jazz playbook in 24 hours. And Conley's experience is even harder to replicate.
Conley was shooting 12.1 field goals per game this season. Without him, Mitchell would add more attempts to the 19.4 shots he already takes per game.
If you're a Jazz fan, the extra volume is not necessarily desirable. Mitchell is shooting only 43.9 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from long distance.
So what would the Jazz do?
Coach Quin Snyder will probably tap Jordan Clarkson as a starter. But that would take 15.6 points off their bench production and leave the reserve unit dangerously parched and vulnerable when the starting unit takes a blow.
The problem here is not actually losing Conley per se. The problem is the timing.
Behind All-Star Nikola Jokic and rising star Jamal Murray, the Nuggets rank fifth in offensive rating (113.1) and 16th in defensive rating (111).
The Nuggets swept the Jazz 3-0 in their regular season series. Expect that streak to continue when both teams meet again at 1:30 am (Philippine time)
I love Jordan Clarkson and Utah is on my mind but the heart has a mind of its own and it's telling me that the Nuggets will win Game 1 going away.
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