Denver Nuggets: Evaluating Emmanuel Mudiay So Far

Mudiay As Floor General

If there’s one thing to be taken away from Emmanuel Mudiay’s early struggles, it’s that at the very least, he possesses the court vision and the passing ability to be a very good floor general in this league in the future.

Though he’s only averaging 5.9 assists per game on the season, keep in mind that that figure ranks second among all rookies (trailing only T.J. McConnell on a virtually guard-less Sixers team) and that it’s only his first month in the NBA.

Mudiay is still committing 3.9 turnovers per game, but even with those early struggles, the bigger takeaway should be from some of the exemplary dimes he’s already produced.

Mudiay already has a solid feel for where his new teammates are on the court, and he’s not afraid to make a flashy pass if it’ll get the job done and fool the defense — especially when he gets going downhill and has support running with him.

It’s not just his behind-the-back or behind-the-head passes that are praise-worthy, though. Mudiay’s understanding of where his teammates are cutting and where they’ll be beforehand is a testament to his superb court vision. At just 19 years old, Mudiay is assisting on 30.9 percent of his team’s field goals when he’s on the floor.

Passing is great, but Mudiay’s ability to change his tempo and manipulate the pick-and-roll defense has been impressive at times as well. I say “at times” because for the most part, the Nuggets’ pick-and-roll has been largely ineffective in sets involving Mudiay.

According the NBA.com, the Nuggets are only scoring 0.57 points per possession in pick-and-rolls with Mudiay as the ball handler, ranking him in the 17th percentile.

That being said, some of the onus is with his less than talented supporting cast, and Mudiay has shown flashes of brilliance in being able to read where the defense is in pick-and-roll coverage. Stephen Curry found that out the hard way when Mudiay used his screen to lose the reigning MVP (with a little help from Nikola Jokic, who stepped on Curry’s foot):

In his season debut, Mudiay effectively picked apart the defense of the Houston Rockets, even as he committed a horrific 11 turnovers in the process.

Lawson’s defense is atrocious on this set where Darrell Arthur sets a half-hearted screen, but Mudiay makes the play happen by slowing down, letting the help defense commit and then feeding Arthur on the roll once he’s open.

The way Mudiay patiently attacks pick-and-roll coverage is a lot like Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell waiting for his blocks before exploding through the hole. Below, Mudiay finds no such gap, but he creates one and finds Randy Foye in the corner for an open three-pointer.

At this point, Emmanuel Mudiay is a turnover machine and the Nuggets are really struggling in pick-and-roll sets with him at the point. But the flashes of brilliance in his court vision and passing ability should outweigh any of those early concerns. He wouldn’t be the only rookie guard to struggle with turnovers, after all.

Next: Mudiay As Defender