BOULDER — For the second-straight day, Emmanuel Mudiay was the talk of Nuggets’ training camp.
The 21-year-old who began last season as Denver’s starting point guard before injuries and poor play forced him out of the rotation, captained the Nuggets’ second unit to a dominating win in Wednesday night’s scrimmage over the starters.
“He’s had some really good practices,” coach Michael Malone said of Mudiay. “This is practice No. 5 today. He’s a lot leaner. He’s lost weight, in unbelievable shape. He’s pushing the ball with great pace and he’s shooting the ball very well.”
“His jump shot, his handle, his decision-making, his pace, all aspects you can tell he’s put a lot of work in this summer,” Malone continued.
Mudiay, along with Torrey Craig, Mason Plumlee and other members of Denver’s bench unit went up against the Nuggets’ starting lineup on Wednesday, which consisted of Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Wilson Chandler, Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic. The starters raced out to a quick lead but then “hit a little adversity,” and “folded,” Malone said. The scrimmage lasted four six-minute quarters.
“Last night, the white team dominated the blue team,” Malone said. “Emmanuel (Mudiay), Mason (Plumlee), Torrey Craig, those guys were all a big part of that.”
“We just forced them to turn the ball over and got after them on defense and scored in transition and then we executed on offense,” Craig told BSN Denver. “Before we knew it we were up by 20.”
Mudiay averaged 11.0 points on just 37.7 percent shooting from the field and 31.5 percent from three last season, along with 3.9 assists for the Nuggets across 55 games (41 starts). Even with his struggles over the past two seasons, Malone called Denver’s three-way point guard battle between Mudiay, Murray, and Jameer Nelson an “open competition.”
Nelson, who started 40 games at point guard for the Nuggets last season, injured his toe in Denver’s first practice on Tuesday and was held out each of the past two days. He’s won’t play in Saturday’s preseason opener in Golden State.
Malone plans to give both Mudiay and Murray chances to start at point guard over the Nuggets’ first few preseason games before naming a permanent starter for Denver’s final two preseason matchups. Mudiay will also play with the starters during Thursday night’s scrimmage.
“He played great,” Lyles said of Mudiay. “He ran the team. He was a point guard. He did what he was supposed to do. He played really well.”
