latin jazz
Well-Known Member
Only starter with a negative BPM thus far. Most generalization metrics (PER, VORP, etc) have him pegged as a below average player. Discouraging, he was brought in to be a shooting upgrade over Rubio, but so far Ricardo has been the better shooter (MC 37/34/79 — RR 39/34/86)
Ricky is also averaging way more assists (w/ 4:1 to ratio wow) and rebounds and is a positive BPM. So far Conley has not been an upgrade in any area while costing us fan favorite players, multiple firsts, and possibly flexibility next year if he picks up his nearly $35M player option.
At this point, approaching a quarter of the season already, fans should be worried about the reality of the situation.
Looking at overall season stats is misleading. You are including a few outlier games that could be considered some of the worst shooting nights in Conley's career. If you look at his recent play (last month), he is averaging 16ppg on 39.2% shooting and 37.5% from 3. He is an upgrade over Rubio. You can't just look at fg% and conclude Rubio is the better shooter.
Conley shoots of the bounce, way tougher shoots than Rubio, who is left open by design. He also has a deadly floater game which has been inconsistent. Overall, he keeps defenders honest.
Most importantly, what you see now is Rubio at his peak. That's it. We had him for two years and it was obvious for everyone that we, as a team, had a pretty low ceiling with him as our starting PG. If Conley gets more consistent, we are a contender. I expect Conley to land somewhere around 41fg%, with 37% from 3 and averages of 16.5ppg, 3rpg, 5apg for the season (and once those outlier games have less weight).