Gary Harris could be a solution to Emmanuel Mudiay’s progress

Gary Harris may be the player to bring out the best in Emmanuel Mudiay.

Gary Harris had a great statistical year last season. However, many people forget the impact he had on Emmanuel Mudiay when he returned from injury during the first portion of the season.

Mudiay had been struggling and when Harris returned to the starting rotation, he started to play more efficiently. For whatever reason, Harris seems to bring out the best in Mudiay’s defense.  Suddenly, this begs the question of whether or not Gary is the key to unlocking the defensive potential in Emmanuel Mudiay.

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Even the year before, once could see spurts of brilliance in a back court consisting of Gary and Emmanuel. Now, I get the argument for moving on from Mudiay, I really do. I understand he lost his starting job to Jameer Nelson, but at the same time, he is extremely young.

With another year under both he and Harris’ belt, who knows how much he will develop this coming season.

Per basketball-reference.com, Mudiay finished with a less than stellar defensive rating of 114. Not a great body of work on the season, but the few games he played with Harris when Gary returned in December showcased cases of defensive brilliance. He even found a way to get some of his ball movement under control as suddenly he was more in control and cut down on his turnovers.

If one remembers, one of the huge knocks against the young Mudiay was his issue with constant turnovers. This had a lot to do with him getting benched later on in the season, but in the short phase when Harris returned, Mudiay showed how much potential he possesses.

Next: Nuggets set preseason schedule

There is no guarantee Harris is the secret to unlocking the potential in Mudiay, but with how well he plays with him, it is worth wondering if he has something to do with Mudiay’s growth.