Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried fights for a rebound with Chicago center Joakim Noah in a preseason game on Thursday, Oct. 8. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
On Wednesday, Nuggets point guard Emmanuel Mudiay received the first of what is sure to be many predictions of accolades in his career when Las Vegas sportsbook, Bovada, made him a co-favorite to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year.
Mudiay grinned, but shrugged it off.
“I’m just trying to get to the playoffs,” said Mudiay, who shared the 4/1 odds with Philadelphia big man Jalil Okafor. “We haven’t been to the playoffs in two years. So, I’ve just got to take care of what I need to take care of and everything else will fall into place. So just keep working hard. It would be nice to win it but at the same time the main focus is just on the team.”
And to that end, Mudiay has found himself to be a film buff — a game-film buff. The rookie says it’s been perhaps the biggest aid in his steady improvement, and what’s more is he can’t get enough of it.
“Because the game is fast…I’m not going to say real fast, but I was just making decisions I knew were bad decisions. But now, the more I’m watching, the more film I see, the better it is,” he said. “I started (watching) a little bit in China, and I’ve seen how important it was. So now it’s like I’m always trying to watch film, I’m bugging people to watch film.”
Arthur making progress. After three days of no pain in his bruised right knee, Nuggets forward Darrell Arthur is expecting to participate in full practice on Thursday, his first since the start of training camp.
“We’ve just been progressing each day — a little bit of time here, a little bit of time there,” he said. “I’m really just looking to get back in shape. I did a little workout today (Wednesday) and I’m damn near dead tired. Just trying to get back into it and try to get my movements right. Just trying to focus on my movement and pushing off and strengthening my legs, really. Trying to not have this happen again. So we’re taking the best precautions we use to do that.”
An MRI showed that Arthur’s injury was a bone bruise, not a strained hamstring as was previously thought. And that piece of information was huge, he said.
“Oh man,” Arthur said. “My history of having season ending injuries, I was pretty nervous about it. I was relieved when I got the news and I’m happy to get back on the court.”
Nick Johnson update. Shooting guard Nick Johnson, the last remaining player in Denver from the Nuggets-Rockets trade in July that sent point guard Ty Lawson to the Lone Star State, hasn’t gotten much game time in the preseason. But he did get on the court for extended minutes at Golden State and has made an impression with coach Michael Malone.
“It was a good opportunity for him because prior to that, when Randy (Foye) was healthy, he was only getting minutes in the fourth quarter,” Malone said. “With Randy being out with the hamstring, it allowed Nick to get in the rotation. He’s a very capable defender. For a guard, a combo guard, he had six rebounds, which was terrific. Struggled making shots, putting the ball in the basket. But he’s a guy who can cover the 1,2 (and) 3 positions. He brings a toughness and athleticism that not many guys have. And obviously he’ll get another opportunity Friday night (against Phoenix).”
Malone looking for more defensive improvement. The Nuggets have shown a lot of gains on the defensive end — have had a good defensive preseason thus far, actually. And while that has pleased coach Michael Malone, he’s pushing for more.
“Right now our Achilles heel is transition defense, we’re doing a poor job in that area,” Malone said. “A lot of that is predicated on our turnovers. And the other area we’re doing a poor job of is rebounding. And if we’re going to play small ball we’re going to have to find a way to rebound a lot better.”
Follow Chris Dempsey on Twitter @dempseypost or email him at cdempsey@denverpost.com
