Since being drafted by the Denver Nuggets, the hype surrounding Emmanuel Mudiay has been on a steady rise. You’d expect nothing less from the player anointed the future of the franchise. Thankfully, that hype isn’t ballooning expectations for Mike Malone’s rag-tag bunch.

There aren’t many reasons to expect much from the Nuggets this season. In fact, most people believe the Nuggets are closer to a top-five pick in the NBA draft than competing for a playoff spot, understandably so.

Describing the 2014-15 Denver Nuggets would be tough without including the word “mess.” Brian Shaw’s clashing with his players created a situation that’s forgettable for all. But last year’s Denver Nuggets are not this year’s Denver Nuggets. In fact, the two teams are light years apart.

The 2015-16 version of the powder blue will be much better than expected. There are plenty of reasons to approach this season with optimism; it’s a guarded optimism but optimism nonetheless.

The Nuggets are closer to competing for a playoff spot than people think and there are a number of reasons why.

Team chemistry will be infinitely better this season.

The toxicity of Denver’s locker room last season was an undervalued factor in their demise. Things were bad. When the downward spinal started, the bad apples reared their ugly heads. It created a situation that drained everyone. Those elements have been weeded out.

If this town needs an example of the effect good leadership can have on a basketball team, they need look no further than the 2008-09 team. Chauncey Billups changed the culture of that team when he arrived. He was single-handedly the reason they made it to the Western Conference Finals.

Josh Kroenke, Tim Connelly and Pete D’Alessandro – otherwise known as the Nuggets brain trust – did a great job this offseason making sure there was strong leadership in Denver’s locker room. You can be sure this year if things get bad that Jameer Nelson and Mike Miller wont let this team quit. The latter of those two will also provide a much-needed spark from downtown.

When was the last time Denver had a consistent threat from beyond the arc? Bueller, Bueller, Bueller…

It’s been awhile.

In Miller, the Nuggets have a player that has the ability to create space on the offensive side of the floor as an outside threat. He is a guy that can also come off the bench and help spark a Nuggets run by hitting quick threes or stem the bleeding of an opponents’ run with fast points.

Miller is a career .407 shooter from beyond the arc. And, the last time Miller played a full season (two years ago) he shot 46% from three-point land. The Denver Nuggets haven’t had a player shoot over .400 from beyond the arc since 2012-13 when Wilson Chandler posted a .413 average.

Everyone knows Wilson can shoot you into games but he can also quickly shoot you out of games. He is the definition of a streaky shooter; Miller is anything but. His shooting ability has been sorely needed at the Pepsi Center for quite sometime.

Then there’s Mudiay. There is hype around the young rookie for a reason. He’s going to be really, really good. At 19 years old, you can certainly count on some growing pains this season. That said, Mudiay’s talent is going to win the Nuggets more games than it’s going to lose them. He’s too talented for that not to be the case.

Last season the Denver Nuggets managed to win 30 games while battling with their head coach, dealing with a toxic locker room and then a coaching switch. There was a revolving door of issues that had this team not knowing if it was coming or going.

The core players that suffered through that – Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Jusuf Nurkic and Chandler – last season deserve credit for what they did. Those players are still here, talented and rejuvenated. With the newly added pieces, attitude and talent there’s no reason this scrappy bunch can’t make noise in the West.