Mike

Conley

Conley had a rough night in Oklahoma City, providing little value in the Timberwolves’ final game of the season. He was expected to be a late-round player in eight- and nine-cat formats before the season began, and he met those expectations. Conley is headed into the final season of his contract, and between the pending free agency of Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the development of first-round pick Rob Dillingham, it’s conceivable that Conley’s playing time (24.7 mpg in 2024-25) takes a hit next season. At best, he’ll be a player worthy of late-round consideration in standard league drafts.

Conley has been a consistent starter for most of the season, but he hasn’t been productive in the box score, especially during the postseason. However, he changed that on Wednesday. He set new highs for points, rebounds, assists and three-pointers during these playoffs as Minnesota closed out their series with Golden State to return to the Western Conference Finals. Conley will continue to start, but it’s unlikely that he replicates this production in the next round.

Conley’s 17 points were the most he’s scored in a game since January 22, when he scored 18 in a win over the Mavericks. While the veteran point guard has been more valuable to his team than to fantasy managers, he has been a top-100 player in nine-cat formats over the past two weeks. Conley is rostered in 38 percent of Yahoo! leagues, and that number should not increase much with the Timberwolves playing three games during Week 22.

Conley will be back in the starting unit after coming off the bench on Friday. It was a one-time thing for Joe Ingles to start in front of his son. Conley will be back to playing his usual role against Indiana.

The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski reported that head coach Chris Finch is starting Ingles because his family is at the game. His son Jacob, who is autistic, sat through an entire game for the first time; the sensory overload of the arena had previously been too much for him. However, Ingles didn’t see the floor. Finch is starting Ingles so that Jacob can see his dad play and start. It’s unclear how much Ingles will play, and he is replacing Mike Conley in the starting lineup. Conley should still see close to his typical workload.

Conley had his best offensive night in over a month, with the 16 points being the most he’s tallied in a game since February 6. The veteran point guard has proven more valuable to the Timberwolves than to fantasy managers on most nights, but he has been a top 100 player in eight-cat formats over the past two weeks. As long as Conley continues to start ahead of Donte DiVincenzo, he can be a fantasy asset down the stretch. DiVincenzo finished Wednesday’s loss with 11 points, seven rebounds, one assist, one steal and two three-pointers in 24 minutes.

Despite returning to the bench on Monday, DiVincenzo still played 32 minutes in the overtime defeat. The Timberwolves guard has hit double figures in 10 straight games, with the 19 points scored against the Pacers tonight his most since March 2. Even on nights when Mike Conley is available, DiVincenzo can provide reliable fantasy value. Conley played 32 minutes, finishing with nine points, three rebounds, five assists, two steals and two three-pointers.

Conley is back after sitting out Sunday’s win over the Jazz for rest reasons. His return means Donte DiVincenzo heads to the bench, but standard league managers who have Donte rostered should hold onto him. He can still provide solid value as the sixth man.

DiVicenzo will start for Mike Conley (rest) on Sunday. DiVincenzo is averaging 15.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game a starter this season.

Conley will get a rest night of the first leg of this back-to-back, which means that he should be available to play against Indiana on Monday. Donte DiVincenzo should start in place of Conley, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker taking on a larger role off the bench.