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Early on Wednesday, it was announced that the Utah Jazz would move point guard Mike Conley to the bench swapping him out for Royce O'Neale. Later in the day, the Jazz announced that small forward Joe Ingles would move to the bench instead of Conley.
The mix up confused fans and media and Utah head coach Quin Snyder took the time to explain the confusion prior to the team's game against the Boston Celtics per Andy Larson of the Salt Lake Tribune.
Quin Snyder, explaining the lineup change: "We've got to get back to defending. My decision to put Royce in the lineup is grounded in that, but he can't do it on his own."
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) February 27, 2020
Snyder: "I'm lucky to be able to coach a group that embraces whatever we do, whether it's starting or finishing. Matchups come into play."
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) February 27, 2020
Quin, did you consider Conley to the bench? "I think there's been consideration all year for who we play and who we start. Not just who we start, who finishes. Joe has not started, Royce has not started, Mike has not started. Those lineups and decisions have been fluid."
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) February 27, 2020
According to Snyder. the reason for inserting O'Neale is for defensive purposes. Snyder also lamented that while Conley has in fact been the starter all season long, the Jazz players have been excellent at embracing changes throughout the season.
Conley signed with the Jazz this offseason after 12 seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies. Seen as one of the biggest moves of the offseason, the 32-year-old point guard hasn't exactly lived up to the height in Utah as he is posting his lowest scoring total in the last seven seasons while shooting lower than 40 percent from the field.
As for O'Neale, the third-year forward has been praised for his defense and versatility. So far this season, the former Baylor star is putting up a career-high 6.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists while starting 48 of Utah's 57 games this season.
