Emmanuel Mudiay has been playing exceptional basketball in the month of March and will look to keep it going against the New York Knicks Tuesday night.
In the three games the Nuggets have played this month, Mudiay is averaging 21 points, 7.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds. While it has only been three games, Mudiay looks to be breaking through, playing with an aggressive mindset and controlling the floor; his numbers are a reflection of this.
Mudiay’s next opponent is the 26-38 New York Knicks, which means that the 34-year-old Jose Calderon will be tasked with guarding the 20-year-old Mudiay.
Calderon has been the Knicks’ best option at point guard this season, but that doesn’t mean he’s a very good option to match up with Mudiay. While he’s a deadly shooter, the rest of Calderon’s game has dropped off; he’s averaging just 9.9 points per game, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
In addition to the favorable matchup, there are a few more key stats to keep an eye out for in preparation for Tuesday’s game.
One of them is that Emmanuel Mudiay has played fairly well against teams that are from the Atlantic division. In the eight games Mudiay has played against Atlantic opponents, he is averaging 12.1 points, 6.8 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game.
In addition, the Nuggets are coming off an off day. Emmanuel has performed best this year when he has one day of rest prior to his next game, averaging 12.8 points, 6.3 assists, and 3 rebounds per game.
One critical thing for Emmanuel Mudiay as the year winds down is for him to get his playing time.
Mudiay needs reps and exposure to get better and improve his game. Since Jameer Nelson went down with a wrist injury, Mudiay has seen his minutes spike, which has proved to be beneficial.
Mudiay plays his best when he plays more than 30 minutes a game, averaging 12.7 points and 6.9 assists per game.
All the stars seemed to be aligned for Emmanuel Mudiay to have another breakout game, and what a better game to do it than one when Carmelo Anthony returns to the Pepsi Center.
The Congo Kid, or should I now say the Congo Man, has come out of the gate strong in March and will look to prove yet again why he is the future of this Nuggets team.
In the one game Mudiay played against the Knicks earlier in the year he put up 15 points, 9 assists, and grabbed 4 boards.