MEMPHIS -- There aren’t many areas in this first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers in which Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley has been denied -- on the court or off.

The training room is one of the few exceptions.

“If I could, I’d definitely take the shot,” Conley said. “But from everything they tell me, the injury is on the one area of my foot where you can’t take an injection. Believe me: I would if I could.”

Instead of simply receiving a pain-killing shot before each game, Conley has faced two options: Endure the pain or ignore it.

Actually, there has been a third choice, considering the way the Grizzlies dominated the Blazers for the second time in as many games in Wednesday’s 97-82 victory.

He has been inflicting that pain on the opposition.

To understand how Conley subtly yet masterfully dissected Portland, with a team-high 18 points, six assists and one steal in 29 minutes, to lead the Grizzlies to their first 2-0 series lead in franchise history would first require comprehending the meticulously grueling process he goes through just to play.

It’s difficult to see, based on his performances on both ends of the court, but Conley has been limited by a foot injury he struggles to explain. The Grizzlies have tried to keep the diagnosis simple by referring to it as a sprained right foot, an injury that sidelined the veteran playmaker for the final four games of the regular season before he was activated for Sunday’s 100-86 win in Game 1.

It’s far more complicated than that.

“It’s right on the inside of the arch,” Conley told ESPN.com Wednesday. “It’s a sprain of the plantar tendon and the spring ligament, or something. All I know is it’s a tough spot to have one right now. It’s a weight-bearing injury, so any weight you put on it will make it last longer. Normally, you’d be walking around in a medical boot, immobilized and not doing anything. But I know we don’t have time for that.”

The only thing that hurt Conley more than the soreness in his foot in recent weeks was the painful reality of sitting out two weeks as the Grizzlies lost the No. 2 seed in the West, which they had held for much of the second half of the season. Instead of entering the playoffs with home-court advantage until at least the Western Conference finals, Memphis lost six of 10 games before ending the season with a home win against Indiana to secure the No. 5 seed.

Because the Grizzlies finished the season with a better overall record than Northwest Division winner and fourth-seeded Portland, they secured at least home-court advantage for this first-round matchup. Still, Conley and his teammates viewed the late-season slide as an opportunity lost.

Conley’s urgency to push through what continues to be round-the-clock rehab to make his way onto the court was borne out of a sense of guilt because of his recent injury absence.

Despite injury, Mike Conley has been able to drive the Grizzlies to a 2-0 series lead. Justin Ford/USA TODAY Sports

“It’s been rough, honestly,” Conley said. “A lot of stress because I know that at the end of the season, I wanted to be there helping us win the No. 2 spot, helping us achieve all the things we wanted to achieve, but [we] weren’t able to do that. And I felt [my injury] was a big reason we weren’t able to do that, so I’m happy being able to come back and play. That’s the most important thing.”

On one good leg, arguably the league’s most underrated point guard has outplayed the higher profile, more endorsement-rich All-Star on the other team. Conley has averaged 17 points, shot 54.5 percent from the field and engineered an offense that has committed a total of 13 turnovers in two games.

Defensively, Conley has harassed Portland guard Damian Lillard into a pair of the most brutal playoff performances of his career. After missing 16 of his 21 shots in Game 1, Lillard was hounded into a 5-of-16 effort from the field in Wednesday’s loss. Conley has done the work on what amounts to an unofficial minutes restriction, which Memphis coach Dave Joerger refuses to divulge, but he did indicate the 29 minutes his catalyst played in Game 2 were a few too many.

“I tried to get him out of there,” Joerger said of Conley, who has gotten a surprising boost at the point from backup Beno Udrih this series. “But I just thought Mike’s aggressiveness of when to attack and when to just bait guys and open our shots for other people was tremendous.”

Lillard extended the ultimate compliment when asked if he was stunned by how effective Conley has been so far in the series, despite playing through the injury.

Lillard’s answer: What injury?

“Not really,” Lillard said when asked whether he noticed any limitations from Conley. “I noticed that … his movement didn’t seem any slower than normal. It takes a lot to do this. Mike is a guy I’ve got a lot of respect for. And for him to still come out there for his team and play through it -- I know how it feels to be banged up and chase guys over pick-and-rolls and use pick-and-rolls. You’re kind of the guy moving around the most. And he’s out there doing what he has to do for his team.”

What exactly does Conley have to do?

It’s a process that started well before Conley slipped back and lost Lillard on a baseline screen for a layup to score the first points of Wednesday’s game. Conley’s workday started when he arrived at FedEx Forum nearly 90 minutes before the team’s scheduled 9:45 a.m. shootaround.

The daily rehab sessions start with Conley soaking his foot in a hot tub for about 20 minutes, followed by another 20 minutes in the cold water or ice to stimulate the ligaments, tendons and joints.

“Once I get out of there, then I go through what they call scrapings and massage therapy on it,” Conley said. “I go from that to the stretches and rolling my foot on a ball. Then it’s the ice massage, and after that, I get it taped and come right out here to the court for practice. Once it gets loose after all of that, if I don’t get right on the court, my foot will lock up on me, and I’d have to do all that stuff over again.”

That’s just to get through shootaround, essentially a gameday walkthrough. After the team’s 90-minute workout is done, Conley is back in the hot tub, then the cold tub, followed by more massages.

“Before I leave, I have to get it wrapped with a pain patch inside there so I can get some medicine on it,” Conley said. “Other than that, that’s pretty much it.”

That about consumes Conley’s waking hours. He sleeps with an electronic stimulation device attached to his foot to ensure proper blood flow and adequate pain relief. What’s seen publicly is Conley's pulling himself together, having grown accustomed throughout the season to playing with nagging injuries, to be ready come gametime. Out of the view of most, aside from teammates and trainers, is the tedious work that makes him one of the NBA’s toughest players, pound-for-pound.

“He goes through treatment more than anyone I have ever seen and still goes to practice,” Grizzlies center Marc Gasol said. “Then, after practice, he takes care of his body. It’s a 24-hour thing. I respect him a lot. I push him a lot, and I’m really hard on Mike. But he knows, and I know he knows, it’s for the best. I know how much he means to me and means to the team.”

Conley has made peace with the fact that his foot won’t get better until the season is done. His plan is to continue to soak it in ice until the Grizzlies reach their ultimate goal of a championship.

Then, perhaps, he can soak the foot in champagne.

“It’s a lot of sleepless nights, constantly doing rehab, constantly in a tub or constantly hooked up to some machine trying to fix my foot,” Conley said. “It’s going to flare up, no matter what I do. It’s my new routine, my new reality right now. It’s what I have to do to get ready, and I’m happy doing it because I know I’m able to play. And whatever I have to do to play, I’m doing.”

Conley might be far from healed, but you’d never know by his approach in these playoffs.

What’s clear is he is leading the Grizzlies with a healthy dose of conviction.