Emmanuel Mudiay’s first season in the NBA was one of steady improvement.
“He had a lot of progress this year,” head coach Michael Malone said. “I love the fact that he finished on a very strong and positive note.”
Mudiay also drew praise from general manager Tim Connelly, who said, “I like his resiliency, I think he’s grown immensely. I look at his post All-Star break numbers and it’s a guy who is getting better.”
The No. 7 pick in last year’s NBA draft had a big task, namely, becoming the face of the franchise. That’s not easy for anyone to do, let alone a 19-year old, which is what Mudiay was when the season started. But as the highest Nuggets draft pick since Carmelo Anthony in 2003, it is Mudiay’s task.
No matter how he was playing, good or bad, Mudiay never ran from the spotlight. He and Will Barton were named team recipients of an award for their cooperation with the media. as given by the Pro Basketball Writers Association.
He averaged 11.6 points on 31.1 percent shooting overall in November, his first full month in the NBA, and shot 20.8 percent from the 3-point line. In April, the final full month of the season, Mudiay averaged 18.8 points on 45.9 percent shooting overall and 35.7 percent from the 3-point line.
Mudiay led all rookies in assists (5.5) to go with his 12.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
He profiles as a player who could become a triple-double threat on a nightly basis, given his ability to pass and rebound. But to get there, he’ll have to start smoothing out many wrinkles in his game.
Offense: Efficiency on offense begins with the point guard, particularly when the offense is as pick-and-roll heavy as the Nuggets were this past season and will be in the future with Mudiay running the show. Mudiay’s main way of getting shots was with the screen and roll. Forty-three percent of his shots came on pick-and-roll plays. That’s an enormous percentage of offense dedicated to one type of play. He must improve in all areas of his game on offense in order to have more ways to generate points.
Mudiay averaged .641 points per pick-and-roll, far below average. That’s because teams would send players under screens and dare him to shoot over the screener in order to prevent him from getting to the rim. He shot poorly to begin the season but gradually showed improvement.
Until he begins to shoot a higher percentage on jump shots, however, teams will continue to clog the lane and give him the outside shot.
The two other main types of plays Mudiay was involved with on offense were transition and spot-up shots. Including all three, Mudiay had 891 possessions, which was 73 percent of all of his offensive touches, according to Synergy stats. He shot only 41 percent in transition, though, and scored just .817 points per transition possession. Both are below average.
Mudiay’s shot got away from him because too often he didn’t gather himself and go up strong. Whether it was fading one way or another, or flailing his legs, he needs to improve his form.
Mudiay’s best play offensively came with a double high post set in which he’d run opposite of the big man he passed it to. He’d set a baseline screen than pop up off of a pin-down screen and catch and shoot at the 3-point line. He shot 5-of-9 from 3-point range on that play, as he was able to turn and square himself up.
Defense/turnovers: Mudiay defended the ball handler in pick-and-roll situations 34.3 percent of the time. He was okay, but will need more work there. His problem was keeping the ball handler in front of him. He didn’t always show fight through screens, either. Mudiay was, however, decent in getting into a passing lane to get steals.
Turnovers were a big problem, particularly early in the season. Mudiay had 120 turnovers alone in screen/roll situations where he was the ball handler and made poor decisions on where to pass the ball. He also got into a bad habit of jump passing which led to a high turnover total. He had 35 turnovers losing the ball and needs to work on his handle.
Also on his to-do list is learning to finish at the rim. He had more than 80 shots blocked mainly due to exposing the ball too early and for too long as he got to the rim.
If it seems like a lot to do, it is. But they are improvements all young players must make. Mudiay has shown a willingness to work hard, which will serve him well.
