Denver Nuggets Emmanuel Mudiay: "I really want to make it to the playoffs this year"

After the Nuggets 114-107 loss at the hands of the Phoenix Suns last night, rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay offered up his thoughts on the game and what his team’s aspirations were for the season.

“I really want to make it to the playoffs this year,” Mudiay said after Phoenix’s comeback win last night. “We’re tied for eighth (in the Western Conference), but we got a real hard schedule coming up with great teams so we gotta lock in, buckle up and play our best defense that we’ve played all season.”

Technically speaking, Denver is currently the ninth seed after last night’s loss, trailing the Los Angeles Clippers by half a game for the last playoff spot if the season ended today. Yet, the Nuggets negative point differential and daunting upcoming schedule indicates a sharp regression may be in order.

Denver takes on the defending champion Golden State Warriors at home Sunday, then face the Clippers and Spurs before flying to Dallas, Milwaukee, Chicago, Toronto, and finally Philadelphia to close out a daunting five-game road trip.

However, if Mudiay and the Nuggets’ goals are to indeed make the playoffs, the rookie is certainly doing his part.

The No. 7 overall pick had a career high 26 points on an efficient 10-16 shooting, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals against the Suns. Mudiay also limited himself to 6 turnovers while staying aggressive. He finished with eight drives last night per NBA.com and SportVU, up from his 7.8 per game season average.

The personal accolades are impressive for the rookie, he’s now averaging 12.5 point and 6.3 assists on the season, third and second among rookies respectively, he’s also second behind Jahlil Okafor in rookie usage rate.

Last week after the Nuggets put together an all-around performance against the Portland Trail Blazers resulting in a down-to-the-wire win, Mudiay was asked if he would take credit for his two game saving blocks on Damian Lillard that came in the last two minutes of regulation. Instead, Mudiay deflected to his teammates.

“Them two turnovers were dumb turnovers, but at the same time we won so thats the main thing,” Mudiay said. “It’s a team thing. Like I said, J.J. (Hickson) was huge. Teams are so focused on me, Gallo, and other people, so when somebody else does real good that definitely leads to a lot of confidence and a lot of energy. Kenneth (Faried) as well, Kenneth was huge.”

Then, last night after the Nuggets frustrating loss at the hands of the Suns, Mudiay was asked if his career high gave him some satisfaction.

“Definitely not,” Mudiay said. “We lost so that’s all that matters to me.”