Comes a Facebook post on the Utah Jazz basketball team. "Everyone wants to talk about how bad (Mike) Conley is this year and no one wants to talk about how bad (Joe) Ingles has been because he's a 'fan' favorite. . . . Ingles' numbers are worse than (those of) Conley. So why hasn't anybody been talking about this."
Conley is shooting 36.8 percent from the field, and Ingles 36.1.
Conley might feel a little betrayed by the team he came from, Memphis, and perhaps is hurting from being let go. They traded him to the Jazz to bring in a hot, new rookie, Ja Morant who is lighting a fire in Memphis. Conley must be feeling the sting, looking at what Morant is doing, and feeling hurt.
Ingles? He started for the Jazz. At the beginning of last season, he suggested he was as good of shooter as there is in the NBA. He was a confident player, having been one of the best three-point shooters in the league. Then, Kyle Korver was brought in, and it was suggested by one team official (jokingly, admittedly), that Ingles might not even be the best shooter on the team. Now, this; Now, no longer even a starter.
Confidence needs to be curried. It doesn't exist in a vacuum. Conley and Ingles -- to me -- both have clearly been hurt. Ingles might put on a brave face trying to embrace the role of sixth man, but it hurts. Conley might embrace his new team, but it hurts realizing your first love (only team he ever played for) let you go.
So, both are hurting. At least part of the solution, then, is to take away the hurt. If you are the coach, what to you do?
I'd sit Conley down, tell him not to be concerned with how Morant is doing. Let him do great. Let him be wonderful. Be happy for him. But, don't forget your own greatness. Don't forget you were good enough to be a main cog for Memphis -- sometimes, the main cog. And, there is no reason you cannot be even better. Motivate yourself. Accept the challenge. Resolve to dig deep within your soul and bring out the warrior within. Set your jaw, and your determination on being better. If you are to reach a goal, you've got to first set one. Determine to be better and better and better. Determine that whenever you shoot, the ball is going to go in. You're a 43.9 percent shooter for your career. What says you can't repeat that, or improve on it? Of course you can. It's just a matter of setting your heart, squaring your jaw, and pouring a little fierceness into it.
Ingles? I'd tell him how important he is to the team. I'd go on and on for about five minutes telling him how important he is. I'd remind him how well he has played and how -- even as a sixth-man -- he is one of the best on the team. I wouldn't challenge him to win the sixth-man award, because there's Lou Williams over on the Clippers who is clearly going to outscore him. I wouldn't give him false hope; but I'd give him great hope. I'd tell him he can be one of the best sixth men in all the league. He can be someone special on the Jazz. I'd tell him we want him to shoot when he is in, but he must return to his resolve and determination to make his shots. Then, I'd make sure who ever is in the game at the same time knows they are to get him the ball for the open shots. Don't force it to him, just make sure he gets it whenever he is open.
I'd tell both Conley and Ingles to get some fire. Play with fire. Play with a little bit of an edge. Play to show they were wrong to let you go in Memphis, Conley, and we were wrong to move you to the bench, Ingles. Everybody in the NBA has a challenge, because it is a league with the world's best players. So, what of it that you were traded, or went to the bench? Of course there are challenges in this league. Your goal is to play with the best, and find a way to be among the best.
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