Emmanuel Mudiay Marching to beat of a new drummer

Emmanuel Mudiay was born on March 5, 1996. He’s been celebrating his 20th birthday all month as he has raised his game across the board from season averages of 12.1 points, 5.8 assists and 3.4 rebounds to 21.6 points, 6.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in March.

“I’m just working on my game every day, being a student of the game,” said Mudiay after defeating the Phoenix Suns. “Coach asked me to attack more, so that’s what I did.”

Mudiay wasn’t just attacking against the Suns, he’s been attacking defenses more-and-more as the season has worn on, as his comfort levels have risen. His March numbers have been on the rise and hopefully a preview of what is to come for the rookie. Here is a look at his impressive five-game stretch:

Mudiay’s March shot chart has been filled with green (above league average), two areas of yellow (league average) and just three red zones (below league average).

A great sign of his aggression can be seen on his attempts in the restricted area near the rim. In February he finished the month — in 12 games played — shooting 21-54 in the restricted area. Through just five games in March, Mudiay is already 21-40 in the restricted area; just 14 attempts short of surpassing his number of attempts and he has already matched his number of makes.

If Mudiay is able to maintain a league average – or better – shooting percentage in the paint, the increased number of attempts will keep his points per game totals on the rise. Mudiay has maintained consistent shots per game numbers and if the percentages continue to climb, the sky is the limit.

It’s pretty remarkable that Mudiay has been able to adjust shooting mechanics mid-season and an entire summer spent working on his shot will only allow it to get better. Mudiay has shown great strides in his 3-point shooting and is 11-25 in March from beyond the arc or 44 percent, as shown above. He won’t maintain that high percentage, but if he can prove to be around a 35 percent shooter from deep versus 29 percent, that too will be a boon to his scoring numbers. Again, it’s important to note that Mudiay, despite shooting low percentages for much of the season, has not shied away from taking shots and that’s a good sign.

Mudiay against the Suns 

Mudiay’s game was on full display last night against the Phoenix Suns. He shot 13-20 from the field or 65 percent, 4-7 from downtown or 57.1 percent, was somehow just 0-1 from the foul line (it’s always impressive when a guy goes for big points without help at the free throw line) and he had 5 assists on the night — and one big block on a Devin Booker 3-pointer.

Mudiay’s improving shooting form 

Here is Mudiay in his second NBA game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, notice on his shot how his legs sort of double-jump while he’s in the air.

Here is Mudiay on another 3-pointer back on Nov. 11th against the Milwaukee Bucks, again he has the double-pump in his legs on the shot.

But Mudiay didn’t always have that same motion when he shot and that was part of the problem — not having a consistent shooting motion or a repeatable shot. Here is Mudiay’s first career make against the Houston Rockets, pretty darn good form on the three.

That is one aspect that Mudiay and his shooting coaches, Dee Brown and Mike Miller, have been working on with him — repeatable motion. Look at these five makes against the Suns and notice how similar his shooting motion is on all the shots.

It’s not a perfect shot, but it doesn’t have to be — it just has to work for him. We could expect to see some tweaks over the summer as Mudiay continues to work on his shot, but the in season progression has been a very positive sign. That midair leg kick seems to be a thing of the past, the repeatable motion is coming to fruition and Mudiay’s shooting percentages are reflecting the work he’s putting into his game.

Keep Marching on.