LOS ANGELES — Emmanuel Mudiay generally rolls his eyes when the subject comes up.
Himself vs. D’Angelo Russell.
“I don’t care about the comparison,” Mudiay said. “He knows, I know, we’re not the same player. That’s just the media talking, so I don’t pay attention to that.”
Whether or not either of them likes it, Los Angeles Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell and Nuggets rookie Mudiay will be compared in some form throughout their careers. They were the two best point guards available in the most recent NBA draft and were constantly dissected as fans and media tried to put a face on which of the two was the better pro prospect.
The Lakers took Russell with the No. 2 overall pick and, after a slight fall, the Nuggets counted themselves lucky to nab Mudiay at No. 7.
Tuesday night, then, will be the first installment of what is expected to be years of competitive matchups between the two.
In an interview with The Denver Post before the start of training camp, Mudiay spoke about what he thought regarding the hype surrounding Russell and himself before the draft and the link they figure to share as long as they are playing.
“This all just comes down to me not being in America because I went to China,” Mudiay said. “So, going to China, out of sight, you’re not going to get seen. D’Angelo had a great college career for his freshman year.”
But now, just like then, there remains more on Mudiay’s mind. The Nuggets are off to a 1-2 start, and he has had the ups and downs expected of a rookie point guard getting his first taste of the NBA. In the Nuggets’ last game, against Oklahoma City, Mudiay scored just six points on 3-of-14 shooting. He did not get to the free-throw line.
“There’s going to be some games where I can score a lot, and there’s going to be some games where I’m probably going to be off,” Mudiay said. “But I can’t get my head too low. Just got to stay even-keeled. You’re going to win some; you’re going to lose some. But you give your all and do other things, too.”
Mudiay is averaging 12.7 points, 5.3 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He’s shooting 33.3 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from the 3-point line. Mudiay is shooting 50 percent from the free-throw line and is averaging 6.3 turnovers per game.
Meanwhile, Russell is averaging 9.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in his first three games with the Lakers. The top pick at point guard is shooting 36.7 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from 3-point range. He is, however, coming off his second-consecutive double-figure scoring effort of the season, with 10 points in the Lakers’ loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
Both teams, however, are looking to get on track. The Lakers haven’t won yet in three tries, while the Nuggets have dropped two in a row after a season-opening victory at Houston.
“We’ve got to go out and hit first. We’ve got to play 48 minutes straight,” Nuggets forward Darrell Arthur said. “We can’t just play good quarters here and there. We’ve got to go out and play the whole game.”
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or @dempseypost
DENVER AT L.A. LAKERS 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, ALT/NBATV; 104.3 FM
Spotlight on Kobe Bryant:
He is not off to the start he wanted in his comeback season after missing most of last season because of injury, so the Lakers gave one of the franchise’s greatest players a day off. A livid Bryant called himself “the 200th-best player in the league right now” after a 3-of-15 shooting performance in the Lakers’ loss to Dallas on Sunday. Bryant is shooting 31 percent from the field, including 20 percent from 3-point range.
NOTEBOOK
Nuggets:
It remains to be seen whether in this game the Nuggets will have the services of two important big men: centers Joffrey Lauvergne and Nikola Jokic. Both players are suffering from lower back pain, and neither could finish Sunday’s game at Oklahoma City. While Jokic’s back injury was suffered during the OKC game, Lauvergne has been dealing with back pain for a while now. If only one can play, or neither, it will open up big minutes for J.J. Hickson, who hasn’t had much playing time.
Lakers:
Forwards Brandon Bass and Larry Nance Jr. are listed as questionable. Bass suffered a scratched left eye during the Lakers’ game Sunday night and has a corneal abrasion. Meanwhile, former Wyoming standout Nance was on the wrong side of an inadvertent blow to the face by teammate Julius Randle, which resulted in a broken nose.
Christopher Dempsey, The Denver Post
