Summer League recap: Denver Nuggets 86, Miami Heat 83

After a painfully slow first quarter and an overall sluggish first half the Nuggets recuperated in the third quarter and ended up walking away from their third Summer League game with win. Ian Clark was the ultimate hero, sinking a go-ahead 3-pointer with less than a second left, while Erick Green and Emmanuel Mudiay each carried the Nuggets through various stretches of the game. Below are additional notes…

(Box score)

— Ian Clark won this game for the Nuggets. I know there’s a lot of hype surrounding Mudiay given his impressive performances through three games in Vegas, but make no mistake about it: Ian Clark was the MVP of this contest.

In his last two games Clark is averaging 19 points, four boards, three assists and two steals while shooting 58 percent from the field and 77 percent from downtown. He’s currently the Nuggets’ best outside shooter and probably their best overall purveyor of offense. Yet while his Summer League performances over the last few days have certainly bolstered the Nuggets’ chances of making a deep playoff run in Vegas, the big question surrounding Clark is whether his blistering play means anything in the grand scope of the Nuggets’ final roster.

Remember, Clark has been here before. A few years ago he helped the Golden State Warriors win the Summer League title and was awarded MVP of the championship game. He then signed a two-year deal with the Utah Jazz, yet after bouncing back and forth between Salt Lake City and the D-League he was eventually cut by the Jazz last year, at which point the Nuggets claimed him off waivers.

Watching Clark, knowing his history and seeing his perimeter game in action, it’s clear he’s got the talent to make a run in the NBA. For how long and for which teams, I simply can’t tell. If the Nuggets are looking for a cheap 14th or 15th man to fill our their roster he’s not a bad call. That said, I still think the Nuggets would be better off signing a few vets to mentor their bevy of underclassman. All I know is that if Clark continues to play the way he has over the last few games, he’ll find a roster spot somewhere in the NBA this winter.

— I’m not trying to rag on Mudiay here. He’s been one of the best players in Vegas, hands down — maybe the best. But fans and media members alike are totally glossing over the fact that he’s been atrocious on defense through his first three games as a professional in the NBA. Sure there are moments where he clamps down and nearly gets a steal or a deflection, but they’re few and far between. Most of the time Mudiay is listless on the defensive side of the ball. Like Andre Miller, he acts as if screens inject some form of instant paralysis upon contact. Fortunately for Mudiay the inability to fight through screens is nothing but a reflection of effort, or lack thereof. As head coach Michael Malone and his coaching staff continue their tutelage I have no doubt Mudiay will improve vastly on the defensive side of the ball.

But yeah, he was still pretty awesome to watch every time he touched the ball on offense and he’s still saying everything right and doing everything right and my god this kid is gonna be amazing someday.

— Erick Green was the other highlight of this game. Similar to Clark, I thought this one would have been lost without him. Green came in off the bench and played sparingly until the fourth quarter, yet he scored 11 points on 50 percent shooting in only 20 minutes of action.

I admit I’ve always been a bit skeptical about Green’s role in the NBA. And even though I still wonder how he’ll fair against much taller, more athletic guards, I’m convinced he has a role at the next level. The guy can just flat out shoot, maybe not so well from distance, but his midrange game is on point.

To contextualize how impressive Green’s been in Summer League this year, know this: Every time he shoots… I think it’s going in. It takes a lot of confidence from fans to start to think this way about a player — especially from a cynical curmudgeon like myself — which says all you need to know about how well he’s shooting the rock right now.

— Gary Harris is a really good basketball player. But he’s not really that great of a shooter, nor is he a pure scorer. I really feel when he figures this out, that’s when the lightbulb will turn on.

Through three games this summer it’s become pretty clear Harris isn’t all that great at outside shooting. He can hit threes, no question, but that’s not really his game. It never has been, even in college. Harris is much better playing the role of lock-down defender, taking on his opposing team’s most lethal guard, then capitalizing on open shots and drives when they appear. I really feel with Harris the more he forces his game the more thrown off he gets. Watching him figure out who he is as a basketball player in the NBA this upcoming year should be quite interesting.

— Joffrey Lauvergne is as much fun to watch as anybody on this team not named Emmanuel Mudiay. The guy just runs off spirit and determination. And his defense continues to be superb. But what I realized this game was that he’s a lot bigger and more athletic than I originally thought. Lauvergne is a legit 6-10 and can take his counterpart off the dribble with both hands. He demonstrated this in the first quarter when he skied for a lob pass from Mudiay and threw it down with power. I really think given his physical tools he’ll have no problem succeeding in the NBA. At least, I hope.

— Malone, Micah Nori and the entire Nuggets coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for this win. They deserve a ton of credit for the way the Nuggets have played thus far in Vegas. This team really looks like it cares, like it actually wants to win every night. The Nuggets really had no business winning this game. They came out sluggish in the first half, fell behind double digits and didn’t really make a comeback until midway through the fourth quarter… But they fought… And they fought some more… And they never gave up. And in the end they won even though they didn’t play their best as a team and struggled most of the night. And that’s the true hallmark of a well-coached team. And I can’t wait to see this translate to real NBA games come October.