Emmanuel Mudiay must earn Michael Malone's trust for crunch time minutes

“Lately, obviously, [Emmanuel Mudiay] has not been shooting the ball well,” said Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone about not closing recent games with his rookie point guard. “he’s one of the higher turnover guys in the NBA and he hasn’t been guarding his position very well.

“So, for anybody on our team, not just for Emmanuel, if you want to play crunch time minutes,” explained Malone. “you have got to be a guy that we can trust with the basketball, that can make the right decision and value the ball, you have to be able to guard your position and hopefully step in and be able to make a shot. We have plenty of guys who have not been able to do that lately. It’s not just on Emmanuel, but obviously lately I’ve gone with Jameer [Nelson] down the stretch. Jameer has made big plays for us. And I have no doubt that Emmanuel will close out a lot of games for us moving forward.”

Below is a look at how Malone has been divvying up Mudiay’s game minutes over Denver’s last three contests. Take notice of his second half minutes or lack thereof, but more importantly the zeros that appear in the final minutes for Mudiay.

“Every game that we play, I go with my gut,” said Malone about his player rotation. “The week we won three games at home, Emmanuel was on the floor in crunch time. Our first win of the season against Houston, he was on the floor in crunch time.”

Mudiay has been on the floor a lot for the Nuggets to close out games. In the aforementioned opening night victory against the Rockets, Mudiay was huge down the stretch. He played just over 11 fourth quarter minutes, scored eight points — including a big 3-pointer, grabbed two rebounds and added one assist. In that game, Mudiay also committed 11 turnovers, including three in the final quarter.

That’s how it has gone for Mudiay this season; even in games in which he has played well there have been moments of bad play too. The life of a rookie point guard in the NBA. As the season moves along, Malone will use Mudiay differently and he has been using him differently lately.

“It’s the coach’s decision,” said Mudiay about sitting in crunch time. “That’s not something that I can control. Whatever he goes with, that’s what the team’s got to follow.”

Against the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 2nd, Mudiay played just over 30 minutes with nearly 16 of those minutes coming in the second half. He finished the game on the floor for the final 5:41 in Denver’s 99-90 road loss, but struggled throughout scoring just four points on 2-13 shooting.

“I was in a little slump last five games,” said Mudiay. “[Against the Magic] I don’t know, coach’s decision. I’m not blaming coach, but that’s out of my control.” 

Mudiay has been in a slump, over his last five games heading into the Magic game he was shooting just 26.6 percent from the field or 16-60 and committed 19 turnovers for an average of 3.8 per game. His backup, Jameer Nelson, over that same stretch shot 36 percent from the field or 9-25 and committed just 7 turnovers for an average of 1.4 per game. While Nelson’s play has also been erratic, he has been a bit more steady taking care of the ball. But Nelson’s not a long-term answer and this season is about the long-term.

Against the Magic, Mudiay started to show signs that he was breaking out of his slump. He shot the ball with more confidence and attacked the rim – like on the following play where he pushed the ball in transition for an easy lay in during the second quarter.

Malone is entering tricky territory that he has been well aware of all season: development vs. trying to win games. Should Malone just live with whatever he gets from his 19 year-old point guard or should he set an example that even the prized rookie isn’t above having to sit when he’s not playing well?

The head coach needs to be given free reign on how to handle his team, and there’s nothing wrong with Malone wanting to teach Mudiay that he’s not above being sat in crunch time. We’ve seen Mudiay close games as the lone point guard on the floor, we’ve seen Nelson out there with Mudiay to close games and now we’re seeing Mudiay sit and watch his backup close out games.

This is a learning moment for Mudiay, but hopefully one that ends soon. After all, this is Mudiay’s team. The organization made that clear as they handed him the keys by making him the starter from game one, and it’s important to let him learn from his mistakes and play through them, too.

From the sound of it, Malone isn’t banishing Mudiay to the bench forever – he just wants his rookie to prove he should be out there when the game is on the line. In order for Mudiay to prove it, Malone will have to go back to him and show him that trust.

And as Mudiay continues to learn from game-to-game, his on the fly experience will start to pay off.

“I feel like every game is important for the next game,” said Mudiay. “You build on chemistry, trust, confidence.”