Mudiay makes his point in NY debut

INDIANAPOLIS — Emmanuel Mudiay labeled it twice in his first interview since joining the Knicks: “A new beginning.”

After getting benched by the Nuggets and freezing out the Denver media, Mudiay hopes his stalled career will jumpstart in a different uniform and in a crowded backcourt. It certainly started well in Sunday’s 121-113 loss to the Pacers, when Mudiay finished with a double-double off the bench.

“I’m going to try to put that behind me,” the point guard said of Denver. “I’m 21 years old.”

Even without the opportunity to practice with his new team, Mudiay was a spark from his opening possession while hitting his first three shots and recording three of his 10 assists in the first quarter.

The point guard was so hot that he buried a shot from well beyond the midcourt line at the end of the first quarter, although it didn’t count because he jacked it up just after the buzzer. Mudiay ultimately cooled off and finished with 14 points on 5-for-14 shooting.

“Coaches were saying play freely, a lot of pick and rolls. I love playing pick and roll ball, so I was just trying to make plays for others, while also making plays for myself,” he said.

Even without a practice, Mudiay was trusted with 29 minutes – much of it alongside Frank Ntilikina in the backcourt. Jeff Hornacek said the minutes will be determined by Mudiay’s play and fitness, the latter of which could be a concern since he hasn’t played in almost a week and regularly logged DNPs in December and January.

Mudiay, who was drafted seventh by the Nuggets in 2015, went from averaging over 30 minutes as a rookie to under 18 minutes this season. “Coming in at 19 you’ve got so much on you,” Mudiay said. “Coming out of high school I was kind of given everything, the easy route. So that was my first time kind of going through something. I think it formed me well. I didn’t hold my head down. I always tried to just control what I could control and work as hard as I could.” Except Mudiay declined to discuss any of this publicly until Sunday, the day after his trade for Doug McDermott became official. Mudiay avoided the media in Denver but wants to talk in New York. “It was some stuff that happened,” he said. “Like I said, new beginning here. I’m not expecting to do that here. Just moving on from that.”

While Mudiay’s acquisition makes sense in a vacuum as a lowrisk move on underachieving talent, his presence further muddies their guard rotation. Jarrett Jack again started Sunday – although that’s expected to change after the All-Star break – and Hornacek also needs to find time for Ntilikina and Trey Burke. His solution Sunday was the most sensible – playing Ntilikina and Mudiay together for nearly 28 minutes. Ntilikina, who finished with 12 points in 31 minutes, operated mostly as the offguard.

“We can build something really great,” Ntilikina said. “We have kind of the same background.”

Mudiay, who is from Africa and speaks French just like Ntilikina, reciprocated the compliments.

“He has potential to be a real great defender,” Mudiay said. “I think he’s handling it pretty well. He’s going to be fine.”

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