Saving Mudiay
I wrote about this in detail on Tuesday, so please sneak a peek if you’d like to hear my full reasoning, but one of the Nuggets’ top priorities has to be saving Emmanuel Mudiay.
The Nuggets’ upside depends in large part on whether Mudiay pans out, and right now, the early returns have not been positive.
Not only is Mudiay a turnover machine, but the kid can’t finish a layup, a dunk, a anything. It’s in his head now, and I’m not sure throwing him back out to the wolves every night is going to make it any better.
If I’m Malone, I pull Mudiay back, sit him down and let him regain his confidence. Allow him watch the game from a new perspective. He needs it.
Right now, Mudiay is one of the most innefective players in the NBA. When he’s on the court, the Nuggets have a -5.5 plus/minus; that number rises to 1.4 when he’s off the court. Likewise, Denver’s net rating is nearly seven points better when Mudiay is on the bench.
If Mudiay can get back to playing like he did post All-Star break last season, where the Nuggets’ net rating was 3.6 points better with him on the court, Denver will immediately become a more effective team.
