National Basketball Association

Denver Nuggets: Is Emmanuel Mudiay's Struggle Internal?

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:25 p.m. ET

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Oct 3, 2016; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay (0) dribbles the ball under pressure from Toronto Raptors guard Cory Joseph (6) during the third quarter at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets have won both of their preseason games, but cornerstone point guard Emmanuel Mudiay has struggled greatly, and here is why.

The Denver Nuggets started out their preseason by beating the Raptors in a nail biter. They played again last night against the Lakers and had the same result.

But, neither of these wins were promising for the Nuggets. The second game saw several key players out including Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Darrell Arthur, and Gary Harris.

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Emmanuel Mudiay, who was drafted seventh overall in last year draft, has been setback compared to his post All-star break 2015-2016 season.

Could the starting lineup or team management be a factor in why Mudiay has failed to continue to excel under coach Malone this preseason? And, yes, we understand it is only preseason.

Mudiay, who has started in both preseason games, has averaged 23.8% from the field. And a horrendous 13.8% from three point land. He has also averaged 3.5 turnovers throughout these two preseason games. While he has shown flashes of the point guard he could become, Mudiay needs to avoids these setbacks.

Is it just Mudiay playing poorly or could the newly introduced Jurkic lineup be hurting Mudiay?

Oct 7, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Denver Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic (23) shoots against Los Angeles Lakers center Timofey Mozgov (20) during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

The Internal Cause

This is a simple case of basketball spacing. Jurkic hurts Mudiay, and Mudiay needs space to operate. Throughout the game last night, Nurkic was feasting against the LA bigs. He finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

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The breakout that Mudiay saw last season was both in part to experience kicking in and part to Denver figuring out how to play with him.

Mudiay is not a great shooter… yet. So for the time being, Denver must play to their point guard, and that could mean abandoning their Jurkic lineup.

A lineup involving Mudiay, Barton, Chandler, Gallinari, and Jokic may see great dividends in how Mudiay will play. In a lineup that can spread the floor, theoretically Mudiay would thrive.

Mudiay throughout the preseason has a 36.8% turnover rate while scoring only 10.8% of the teams points. He has yet to find his shot; he has shot a horrendous 31.8 TS%, so the fix to Mudiay’s issues may go deeper than a switch in the starting lineup.

He has regressed after reportedly wanting to be an “alpha” player and be the teams vocal leader.

Again this is only preseason, so it could be just a big overreaction and Mudiay will be able to figure himself out!

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