Weaknesses
Like most top prospects Mudiay is a victim of his own hype. Scouts are bumping him down for merely being an elite athlete, versus a Russell Westbrook-esque freak. To borrow Grantland’s Andrew Sharp analysis of Karl-Anthony Towns, “If the only bad thing you can say about a player is ‘he’s not from outer space,’ you’re probably in pretty good shape.”
Unfortunately, that’s not the worst thing you can say about Mudiay. His biggest criticism can be summed up in two words that could use their own ominous theme music courtesy of JD and The Straight Shots: broken shot.
Now he’s not Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, but there are some serious issues with Mudiay’s mechanics. He gets great lift on his shots, but rarely takes advantage of it, often shooting on the way down. This is due to a hitch Mudiay has at the end of his release where he holds the ball for an extra unnecessary second, completely ruining the rhythm of his shot.
Despite those issues, the teenager shot a respectable 34 percent from distance. It’s his 58 percent mark at the free throw line that’s truly foreboding.
Without having the Stockholm Syndrome, I have to admit that Emmanuel Mudiay has improved his outside shooting. His stroke was very fixable.
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) June 14, 2015
In his excellent breakdown of the Russell/Mudiay debate SB Nation’s Kevin O’Connor, used this graphic to show the frigid company Mudiay Shaquille O’Neal-esque free throw shooting leaves him with:
Outside of his stroke, there aren’t really significant concerns about Monday’s game. He could afford to play with a bit more focus on both ends of the court, but is there really a teenager you couldn’t say that about?
Next: Potential Fit