OAKLAND – Memphis point guard Mike Conley will miss Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Sunday against the Warriors as he continues to recover from facial surgery last week.
Conley participated in pregame warm-ups at Oracle Arena wearing a mask over his face, which sustained fractures in Game 3 of the Grizzlies’ first-round playoff series against Portland.
“Hopefully the more I get on the court, the more I’m able to move around a little bit, get my body back acclimated to the basketball, I’ll be ready to go soon,” Conley told reporters.
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Nick Calathes will make his third straight start in place of Conley, whose face was in such poor shape that coach Dave Joerger expressed nervousness about the player shooting around in the vicinity of bouncing basketballs.