Denver Nuggets: Options for the starting point guard in 2017-18
By Brendan Vogt
The prototype
When Emmanuel Mudiay declared for the 2015 NBA Draft, there was a ton of hype. Mudiay brought unmatched physical tools at his position in his class. He had already been playing pro, opting for the Guangdong Southern Tigers over a scholarship with Southern Methodist University, and he already possessed NBA size and athleticism.
Denver was in need of a point guard of the future and despite his injury-riddled stint in China, Mudiay was slated to go early in the draft. He fell to Denver at No. 7 and they couldn’t pass up the talented 6’5″, 200-pound guard with professional basketball experience.
Mudiay started his rookie year but struggled. He averaged just 12.8 points per game despite 30.4 minutes and 13.3 field goal attempts. His splits were discouraging to say the least at .364/.319/.670. He managed to average 5.5 assists, but not without turning it over 3.2 times per game. It was a rough rookie season for the youngster.
It got rougher still in his sophomore campaign. The Nuggets began the year trying to force big men Jusuf Nurkic and Nikola Jokic on the court at the same time. The two men had enormous talent, but the two men were also enormous. Neither was a true 4 and they consumed most of the restricted area. This destroyed Denver’s pacing and suffocated the offense.
Mudiay suffered from this effect. He is a poor spot-up shooter and without any real ability to create his own jump shot, Mudiay relies on his athleticism and slashing ability to get buckets. That couldn’t happen in the Nurkic era.
It’s well documented how things opened up for Denver once it moved the Bosnian to the bench and allowed Jokic to take over. Unfortunately, back issues derailed Mudiay’s season right as Denver hit its stride.
Denver Nuggets
As mentioned earlier, Mudiay would ultimately miss out on valuable time with Jokic. That’s reflected in his numbers, which were even worse than his rookie season.
But there’s reason to hold out hope for Mudiay. The new offense in Denver is a thing of beauty. Playing off ball as a guard on the same team with Jokic is a blessing. His court vision, passing ability and shooting touch create all kinds of angles to the rim for vigilant cutters.
Jokic’s touch from mid-range and offensive awareness limit how much time he spends just absorbing space in the restricted area. They also make him a nightmare to guard in the high pick-and-roll. If the defense shows him something, he’ll find it and exploit it.
Without Nurkic clogging the paint, Mudiay should have more lanes as the ball handler as well, especially in those high pick-and-rolls with Jokic.
It doesn’t seem fair to expect him to turn into a plus shooter at this point in his career, and that makes him hard to start in the modern NBA. The Nuggets can survive sub-par playmaking from their 1s thanks to the unique abilities of Jokic. But they need to surround the Serbian with shooters, and Mudiay certainly isn’t one.
It remains to be seen if he can step up his spot up game in Denver’s new offense. But it’s something that he’ll have to show if he hopes to be the starter on this team.
If he can improve his shot, then he has a chance. Mudiay has by far the best physical tools of Denver’s four guards, and he’s their best chance of developing into a serviceable defender. That has to count for something considering Denver’s horrid defense last year.