At the Denver Ball Arena, the final whistle rang, and the score was fixed at 98-90. Mike Conley stood in the center of the field. You can't see his mood from his facial expression. The 37 year old veteran embraced the Denver Nuggets one by one. The Timberwolves just turned 20 points in the Western Conference semifinal tiebreaker to send off the defending champion. Conley returned to the Western Conference after 11 years.
When Conley walked to the players' passage, Edwards rushed over, hugged Conley, and the smile finally burst out on Conley's face. His right foot still felt sore, and his elbow, which he had just thrown on the floor to grab the ball, was also slightly sore, but the feeling of victory overwhelmed his discomfort. He waited too long, and finally stepped on the floor again, It is a step closer to the once distant championship dream.
"While I still have oil, I will rush with all my strength. My career time is running out." Conley's request to his teammates before the start of the playoffs was echoed in his ears at the moment. Conley is no longer young, but his dream is not getting old.
Plan A of the Timberwolves
"Mike, will you come to play golf tomorrow morning?"
Conley hesitated when he saw the message from Gobel. At the moment, the Timberwolves are in New Orleans. There is a very good golf course near the hotel. The Timberwolves have experienced five consecutive visitors, and the pelican is the last game of this trip. It is rare to have two days of rest before the game. We want to relax.
Conley has not played golf for some time. Although he was once a fanatical golfer, he has collected his clubs since he entered the pre-season training camp.
"I am 37 years old, and I have played in the league for 17 years. I know that maybe a simple stroke will cause my muscle sprain, so I usually stay in my room to watch TV or play games during the season. I hope to play as healthily as possible," said Conley.
This time, Conley decided to make an exception, because it was a rare opportunity for League building. Back in February 2023, Conley didn't expect that he would go to the Timberwolves. At that time, his cooperation with the Jazz had come to an end. Conley thought he could win the championship as a Jazz player. He led the team with Mitchell and Goebbels to achieve the best record in the 2020-21 regular season, and eliminated the Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs, However, Conley and Mitchell both had problems with injuries in the second round. Jazz was sent out by the Clippers, which made the management impatient, so the reconstruction plan surfaced.
Mitchell and Goebbels were sent away, and Conley left the team. When the management asked him which team he wanted to go to, Conley proposed Lakers Or the Clippers, but the feedback is that the Lakers want Russell more, the Clippers are interested in Williams, and Conley's most enthusiastic pursuer is the Timberwolves.
Timberwolves president Tim Connery is looking for a point guard who can feed Goebbels and reduce pressure for Edwards and Downes on the offensive. Connery thinks Conley is the best candidate. He found coach Finch and revealed the recruitment plan.
"Our plan A is Conley," said Conley.
"If Plan A fails, what is Plan B?" Finch asked.
"There is no Plan B, as long as Conley, I think he can help us make a breakthrough," said Connery.
Ice water bath of the new wolf king
"Put your feet in first and feel it," said Conley, pointing to the bathtub in front of you, which was filled with ice water. Ice bath is Conley's favorite to recover after training. James and other veterans also like it, but Edwards, the "new wolf king" of Minnesota basketball, is not too brave.
Edwards tried to touch the water surface with his toe, and immediately drew back like an electric shock. After repeated attempts for a week, he was able to put both feet into the water, and then half of his body plunged into the water.
"He's a bit addicted now," Conley said with a smile.
The Timberwolves got Conley through the three team trade. On the one hand, they believed that Conley still had "oil" in his "tank". He was very strict in physical maintenance. Although he was 37 years old, he was in good health. A reporter also carefully observed Conley, and found that his hairline was still very superior, and there was no white hair, which was envied by other veterans of the league. The 2023-24 season is Conley's first full season for the Timberwolves. He played 76 games in the regular season, the second highest since 2013. Coach Finch, considering Conley's age, once proposed not to play back-to-back, but Conley refused this proposal.
"I'm fine, I can still play," Conley said.
Conley is really good at playing. He gets 11.4 points and 5.9 assists per game. His three-point shooting rate is 44.2%, the third in the league. His assists are the fifth in the 4.4 league. He can shoot, pass low errors, and has strong defense.
On the other hand, Kangli has rich competition experience and is good at communication. He won the Teammate of the Year award in the 2018-19 season. The Timberwolves hope that Kangli can lead Edwards, the young core of the team.
After joining the Timberwolves, Conley sat beside Edwards in the team's video class and on the flight to the away field. For the first month, Conley was watching Edwards, and then he showed Edwards a video tape.
This video tape was jointly produced by Conley and Timberwolves player development coach Chris Heines. It contains Edwards' mistakes when playing pick and roll. Conley told Edwards that although he was a point guard, he would give Edwards the initiative to attack, and he would go to the weak side to open up space. Edwards should learn to read defense better, especially when playing pick and roll, he should not just rush in, but should choose the most reasonable attack method according to the opponent's defensive position.
Conley not only helped Edwards analyze the video and practice with him, but also taught Edwards his own regimen. Edwards respected Conley very much. He told Conley that when he was 8 years old, he played NBA games and liked the Grizzlies who played for Conley. At that time, Conley was a young player who had just entered the league for two years. He was in his prime and full of vision for the future.
Now Conley has felt the "biological clock" of his career ticking. When Conley and Edwards chat, they will recall the trip of the western showdown in 2013, when the Grizzlies eliminated the Clippers and Thunder. Although the western showdown lost to the Spurs, Conley and his teammates think that if the western showdown comes, will the final be far behind? However, after that time, Conley had not touched the floor of Xiju for 10 years.
"Don't think there will be many opportunities in the future. Even if you are young, you must go all out to seize the opportunity when it comes, because you can't predict what will happen in the future." Conley told Edwards.
Edwards replied to Conley, "Before you leave here, we will win the championship."
Don't hurry with time
There is a room next to the coach's office in the Forest Wolf Training Hall. That is coach Finch's video room. Two days after the 2023-24 regular season ends, Finch will call the players to the video room to analyze their opponent Sun in the first round.
The Timberwolves played against the Suns in the last game of the regular season. They lost 19 points. They lost all three games against the Suns in the regular season. Finch spoke for a few minutes, emphasizing the mentality and tactical details of the Suns in the playoffs. When Finch finished speaking and the players were ready to leave, Conley stopped them.
"Wait, I have a request."
The team-mates were surprised that Conley had joined the Timberwolves for 14 months and had never raised any requirements in the players' meeting. What did the veteran want before the start of the playoffs?
"Maybe I'm selfish when I say this, but brothers, please help me win the championship for me. While I still have oil, I will rush with all my strength. My career time is running out," Conley said.
The room was silent, and the teammates were shocked. Conley seldom used the word "I" when talking about basketball, but often used the word "we". This is a rare "selfish" time for Conley.
Seventeen years ago, Conley came to the NBA as the No. 4 draft. Time passed. Of the 60 players in the 2007 draft, only 5 were still playing in the NBA in the 2023-24 season. Although Conley renewed his contract with the Timberwolves and the contract was extended to 2026, his experience in the Grizzlies and Jazz told him that changes can happen at any time, and only now can be assured.
On the way home from the training hall, Conley called his wife Mary to tell her what he had just done. "I said something I wouldn't normally say to anyone. Let's see what happens next," Conley said to his wife.
Next, the Timberwolves swept the Suns. The total score of 4-0 was unexpected, but the process was really crushed by the Timberwolves. More unexpectedly, the Timberwolves beat the defending champion Denver in the second round for two consecutive times, with 26 points in the second game. At that time, the Timberwolves changed from "just a regular team" to a hot candidate for the championship, and they could defeat Denver, Isn't a champion a bag of fish?
However, the ideal is beautiful, but the reality is not simple. Denver Nuggets quickly pulled two games in a row, including a 27 point massacre. To make matters worse, Conley's right Achilles tendon was injured. He tried to fight the Tianwang Mountain battle with his injury. But when he got up in the morning, he found that he could not even walk normally. He took care of his body. At such an important moment of the season, Conley was "backed".
In the absence of Conley, Denver firmly attacked Edwards. Edwards hit 5 of 15 shots and made 4 mistakes. Denver went to Mount Tianwang. The Timberwolves were forced to the edge of the cliff from 2-0 to 2-3 in just one week.
In the morning of the sixth game, Conley had been receiving treatment. The injury of the Achilles tendon would not rest for two days and he would recover. Conley was still struggling when he drove the ball to the ground. When Kangli returned to the locker room, his teammates asked him how he felt. Kangli replied, "Not good, but not bad." This kind of contradictory expression is Kangli's mantra, which means he can stick to it.
In this game, Conley made 5 of 9 shots and contributed 13 points and 5 assists, without any mistakes. More importantly, Conley came back and liberated Edwards. "Huazi" easily got 27 points and only made one mistake. The US media gave a statistics that Edwards touched the ball 102 times in the fifth game where Conley was absent, which set a new season high. Conley's touch in the sixth game fell to 64 times, but his score was 9 points more than that in the last game. His burden reduction brought about the improvement of attack efficiency.
When asked how he could beat Denver by 45 points in Game 6, Edwards replied simply: "Conley is back."
Before the start of the tiebreaker, Conley was nervous. He had played four tiebreakers and lost. Kangli's right foot still needs treatment, and there is still obvious pain when he exerts his force. But when the trainer asked Kangli if he could play, his answer was: "No problem.".
In the 39th minute, with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, Kangli played a very "Kangli" style game. When the two teams played at 72-72 in the fourth quarter, Kangli broke the deadlock with a backward step and three points. His attack on Murray directly contributed to the Timberwolves' defense and counter attack, making three points, from 20 points behind to establishing a 10 point lead, and bringing Denver to the abyss. During the Western Conference semi-finals, Conley won 58 points in total when he was present, which ranked first in both teams.
This is the second time in the history of the Timberwolves, and it was the first time for the Timberwolves to enter the Western Duel after 2004. In 2004, Conley was still at Lawrence North High School with his teammate Oden. From youth to middle age, Conley experienced the Ohio State University's passing of the championship trophy in the NCAA finals, the grizzlies' turning from unity to disintegration, the jazz's flash in the pan, the ideal torch was nearly extinguished, and the forest wolf handed him a new "kindling", Conley responded with the Forest Wolf's first trip to the west in 20 years.
Bring the time back to the pre-season training camp of 2023-24 season. At the opening dinner, Conley and his teammates said this: "Brothers, we must change our mentality. The goal of this season is not to enter the playoffs or win the first round, but to build a champion culture together, hoping to win the final."
Now, Conley and the Timberwolves are eight games away from winning the final game.
