Denver Nuggets
Goal: Playoffs
The fact that the Denver Nuggets were “in the hunt” to sign Dwyane Wade should say all you need to know about the expectations for this team. They fully expect to make the playoffs this season, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen at this time. It has nothing to do with talent for Denver; it’s just their youth and the inability for them to close out games that’s continued to hold this team back.
Time and time again, the Nuggets have continued to let up in the final minutes of games. That’s been one of the main issues for the team, as they seem to have trouble scoring when the game counts most. Now this is were there youth starts to come into play, because a lot of times at the end of games, Emmanuel Mudiay is the one with the ball in his hands.
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But he has continued to be a huge part of the problem for the Denver Nuggets. Mudiay has a tendency to rush things a bit when the game is on the line. That has caused him to get some unnecessary turnovers at the end of games. Now, he needs to start growing in that aspect, because if he isn’t scoring at the end of games, he doesn’t really know what else to do.
That’s been Mudiay’s problem since day one. Whenever he isn’t scoring the ball he tends to forget about creating plays for his teammates or even playing defense at times. That can’t happen anymore. It seems like his scoring is what gets him to play defense and create plays, when in reality it should be the other way around.
Having a hot shooting game should dictate whether he chooses to play defense or not. Yet, at times it looks like that is the case. A prime example of that was the Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers game in which Emmanuel Mudiay went 3-16 from the field (shot 18.8 percent FG.) Instead of finding other ways to contribute, he continued jacking up shots.
In the end, he finished the game with just 8 points, 0 assists and 2 turnovers. That isn’t going to get the Nuggets many wins. In fact that’s probably going to lose them more games than they win. Yet, he continues playing this way.
Denver isn’t going to be making a postseason run anytime soon if he can’t find other ways to produce. Mudiay needs to understand when to create for his teammates, and when to shoot. Whenever he figures that out, Denver will be a tough team out West. But until then, they’ll be sitting on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.