After receiving an inadvertent elbow from Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum in the first round of the playoffs last April, Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley had two metal plates surgically inserted into his face to help heal the broken bones around his left eye. Despite still being in pain, Conley put on a mask and amazingly returned to action just three games later.
Even though Conley doesn't need the mask anymore, he is planning to continue wearing one this season, just in case he gets hit again.
From the Associated Press:
"I'm going to keep it for a little bit," the Grizzlies point guard said. "I feel more comfortable with it on whenever I'm playing because I already know I get hit in my face all the time. I'm a little dude, so I'm around elbows and stuff all the time.
"So I'm going to wear it until I feel comfortable."
The Grizzlies are commemorating Conley's toughness by putting a banner on a building just outside the FedExForum as part of their advertising this season. His performance in pain brought lots of new attention to a guard who has played through a variety of injuries in his eight seasons in Memphis.
Due to the nature of his injury, you can understand why Conley would be so reticent to ditch the mask. Since Conley is not saying he will wear the mask all season, it will be interesting to see how long he actually uses it. Former NBA players Richard Hamilton and Lucious Harris, became so comfortable using a face mask that they continued to wear one every time they played. Could Conley follow in their footsteps?
While Conley may not look that fashionable wearing the mask, he is instrumental to the Grizzlies' success this season, and if it gives him a sense of comfort while playing, he should wear it for as long as he needs to.
