Who's better: Damian Lillard or Mike Conley?
Conventional wisdom says Damian Lillard is a better player than Mike Conley. That's why it was no surprise where the Grizzlies point guard ranked in comparison to Lillard when 2K Sports released its list for top-10 rated point guards in the soon-to-be-released NBA 2K16.
Conley cracked the top-seven, which is probably a nice case against him being the most underrated player in the league, but his standing against Lillard doesn't promote the same thoughts. Here's who 2K Sports has deemed the best floor generals for the upcoming season:
The top 10 point-guard ratings in #NBA2K16. We'll be posting up new top 10's everyday at 10AM PST! RT! pic.twitter.com/wUB3MvKmLn
— NBA 2K 2K16 (@NBA2K) September 17, 2015
Seems about right. But is Conley actually worse than Lillard? I'm talking real-life worse.
Yes, we're grappling about one measly rating point, but the problem isn't even with the game anyway. Offense is far more important in video games than defense. Anyone who has ever picked up a controller is fully aware of that. But the issue is the culture the difference in ratings promotes.
Lillard has the endorsement deals, the bigger stardom. And it's not just because of market size (it's not like Portland is the largest place in the NBA) or Lillard's sudden rise upon entering the NBA vs. Conley's gradual improvement. It's mostly about style. We don't realize Conley is as good as or better than Lillard because his value comes in more subtle traits.
They were essentially equally efficient last year (both had 56 percent true shootings), but Conley didn't have those nationally-televised games during which he'd drain threes and hit contested shots. Conley doesn't have a crazy game-winner to walk off in a playoff series like Lillard had against the Rockets in 2014. Conley doesn't have the State Farm ads.
Over the last two years, they have almost the exact same player efficiency rating, too (19.7 for Lillard vs. 19.3 for Conley), a difference which can mostly be explained in Lillard's higher usage rate, since PER gives benefits the more often a player shoots.
Lillard is certainly the better scorer. You could also argue he's more important to the Blazers offense, especially after the summer's mass exodus which saw Nicolas Batum, Robin Lopez, Wes Matthews and, most importantly, LaMarcus Aldridge skip town. When Lillard was on the floor last year, Portland's attack was 6.6 points per 100 possessions better than when he sat on the bench, a massive difference. Conley still had a great effect (Griz offense was 4.9 points per 100 better with him on the floor vs. the bench), but not with the offensive impact of Lillard. But that's not the debate here. Again, the reason the conversation exists is because of the understated traits Conley possesses, namely his defense.
That's the thing: If Lillard is elite but only marginally ahead offensively, the cataclysmic difference on the other end should set Conley ahead.
Lillard gets blown by on D as much as any other starting point guard in the league. Conley, meanwhile, is vastly acknowledged as one of the best on-ball point guard defenders out there. Sure, he has former Defensive Player of the Year and All-World Helper Marc Gasol to back him up, which certainly makes his job easier, but it's not like Lillard has had chumps playing behind him for his career. Lopez was one of the NBA's better defensive centers during his time in Portland.
Throw most point guards with a help defender like Gasol, and their immediate tendencies turn frantic. They'll jump passing lanes, they'll lunge for steals, they'll get caught out of position when defending ball-screens when they try to get cute and swipe for the rock. You see it all the time. It's because of the comfort that a safety net like Gasol can provide. But Conley isn't doing that. He never really has, at least not since he's become the version of Mike Conley that we know today.
Point guards tend to gamble, even the best defensive ones (paging Eric Bledsoe) do it. Conley's ability to stay disciplined and within the team's principles is unmatched by anyone not named Chris Paul.
It's not a coincidence that the Grizzlies stepped on the Blazers for the the first three games of their series against them last year before dropping Game 4 and eventually closing out a closer victory in Game 5. Conley was hurt for the final two contests, over which Lillard went on a scoring binge. But who do you think deserves much of the credit for Lillard's 35 percent on field goals or 17 percent on threes over the first three games?
The answer to that question is not the guy you'd take in the video games.
(h/t 2K Sports)
