SAN FRANCISCO -- Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley has been upgraded from doubtful to questionable to play in Game 2 against the Golden State Warriors.
Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said after the team's morning shootaround in San Francisco that if Conley plays Tuesday night, he will start. Conley has missed the past three games recovering from surgery to repair broken bones in his face.
"If it's really close tonight and it doesn't happen, then hopefully it does happen for Game 3," Joerger said. "These guys are dying (to see Conley back) and he's dying to be out there with them. They're all a very close group. It'll be his regular minutes. If he plays, he'll start."
Conley has been shooting and going through non-contact drills wearing a protective mask. The left side of his face is still visibly swollen.
He spent the final minutes of Tuesday's shootaround standing near the free throw line in a group discussion with center Marc Gasol, forward Zach Randolph and Joerger.
"I really hope so -- hopefully, I'll get a chance to get out there," Conley said when asked if he expected to play in Game 2. "We're going to talk about it when we get to the arena tonight, and see how things go. We were just going over some game-planning stuff. It was just more of a housekeeping thing for our team."
Conley said two previous concerns -- his appetite and stamina in the days after surgery -- have improved.
"That has gotten pretty much back to normal, where I can eat, feel comfortable eating three or four meals a day and not feeling sick afterwards," Conley said. "So I'm feeling pretty good. For me, it's just being away from basketball, your conditioning -- trying to get your feel back -- it's a different level. Trying to jump back into a high-level game is going to be tough for anybody."
The Grizzlies have started Nick Calathes and brought Beno Udrih off the bench the past three games. Joerger will likely stick with that rotation if Conley can't play.
The Warriors lead the second-round series 1-0.
Information from ESPN.com Michael Wallace and The Associated Press was used in this report.