If the Utah Jazz are to reach their full potential this upcoming season, a breakout year from new recruit Emmanuel Mudiay is of vital importance.
When the Utah Jazz signed Emmanuel Mudiay back in July, it seemed as though he would have a rather small role in determining the team’s success this upcoming season. However, with Dante Exum‘s status still up in the air, Mudiay could have a fixed spot in the rotation and play some big minutes as the back-up point guard.
On media day, the word going around about Exum was that he and the Jazz have focused their attention on peaking around playoff time as opposed to taking the risk of coming back too soon.
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As a result, there’s every possibility that the Jazz could be light in backcourt depth for a fair portion of the season, in which case Mudiay’s impact will be crucial.
After participating in just two preseason games, I was very impressed with Mudiay’s game and his fit in relation to the new-look roster. Perhaps what I was most impressed with was his ability to own his own space. There are very few point guards that don’t allow themselves to be moved off their line en route to the basket like Mudiay.
So, when he plays with an advantage — either off the catch or as the pick and roll ball handler — the opposing point guard isn’t stopping his direct line drive to the rim. The biggest question with Mudiay is if he can finish when he gets there.
Last season, Mudiay got to the rim with impressive regularity, getting to the restricted area for 38 percent of his shot attempts, but he made just 52 percent of his looks there which was in the 10th percentile of all guards.
In two preseason games with the Jazz, Mudiay averaged 10 points, three assists and two rebounds with some impressive highlights to go along with it.
Emmanuel ➡️ Jeff pic.twitter.com/PjZ934YD1k
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 17, 2019
For the Jazz to reach their full potential this upcoming season, it’s imperative that Mudiay is — at the very least — serviceable at the back-up point guard position as it allows much greater flexibility throughout the roster.
If the Jazz get a month into the regular season and it turns out Mudiay is practically unplayable, it means the point guard duties get shared between Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell. In turn, this means they can’t share the court as often and it really limits Quin Snyder’s options and Utah’s overall versatility.
It will be interesting to see how the Jazz manage to maximize Mudiay’s potential in the long run, but also how they integrate him into the lineup to start out the season. If Mudiay can make strides and quickly become the player that his draft stock once indicated, it puts a dangerous new weapon in Quin Snyder’s arsenal.
Statistics courtesy of Cleaning the Glass.