Emmanuel Mudiay was playing the role of corner man, encouraging his bruised and battered prize fighter between rounds.

The scene occurred last week when Nuggets guard Gary Harris, coming off a rare rough outing during a loss to Charlotte, prepared to address reporters after a morning practice. Before Harris could get a word out, Mudiay leaned toward the assembled microphones and notepads.

“The energy was low, and I got on Gary last game,” Mudiay said, drawing a few chuckles. “His energy wasn’t there. Me coaching him from the sideline, that’s the main thing. They’ve got to come out and compete.”

It was a lighthearted moment between teammates. But truth often is nestled inside humor, and Mudiay’s words spoke of an unfamiliar role to which the second-year point guard is trying to adjust. Related Articles March 8, 2017 Kiszla: With playoff berth within grasp, Nuggets don’t care enough to give professional effort

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Mudiay entered Friday not having played in five of the Nuggets’ eight games since the all-star break. He played in the closing minutes of a blowout victory in one of his three appearances since the break, and injuries to other players forced him into action in the other two.

It’s been a steep and sudden drop for the 6-foot-5 Mudiay, who was viewed as the future of the franchise when he was 19 and the Nuggets drafted him at No. 7 overall in 2015. Mudiay’s face was plastered on billboards promoting a new era in Nuggets basketball. The selection of the promising teenager left general manager Tim Connelly “giddy” that June night.

Less than two years later, the only word synonymous with the future in the case of Mudiay is uncertainty. And the same list of circumstances that have pushed the young point guard to the bench make it unclear when and if he will leave it.

In the playoff hunt

The seeds of postseason aspirations were planted in Omaha during training camp. The Nuggets were picked to finish near the bottom of the Western Conference heading into this season, but coach Michael Malone believed during camp that a playoff push was possible.

Things didn’t look good when the Nuggets fell to 14-23 with a five-game losing streak in January. Denver would have been nearly buried in most seasons, but a down year in the Western Conference left a ray of hope. The Nuggets responded to that losing streak by winning 11 of their next 19 games, with Mudiay missing much of that stretch because of a back injury.

The Nuggets weren’t setting the world on fire, but they entered the all-star break with a 1½-game lead in the race for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference with 26 games to play. That left their goal in sight, and it left Malone with a decision to make at point guard as Mudiay prepared to return from his back injury. Put him back in the lineup? Or go with the players who are doing well?

“As you make a playoff run, it’s not about keeping everybody happy,” Malone said. “It’s about accepting roles and sacrificing for the betterment of the team.”

Malone decided to go with veteran Jameer Nelson as his lead point guard. Also, the coach chose to stick with rookie Jamal Murray at the backup spot Mudiay hadn’t just been moved out of the starting role. He had been moved out of the rotation. That was a reality that weighed on Malone, whose first game as Denver’s coach coincided with Mudiay’s NBA debut.

“That’s probably one of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make in terms of what guards I’m going to go with,” Malone said. “Emmanuel was starting for us for a year and a half, so for him to go from starter to sort of out of the rotation is a lot to handle for a young man.”

The back injury did Mudiay no favors as he attempted to make strides after an up-and-down rookie season. But neither did his play. While starting 41 games before the injury, Mudiay averaged 12.1 points, 4.2 assists and 2.6 turnovers per game while shooting just 37.4 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from the 3-point line. His scoring, assist rate and 3-point percentage were all down from his rookie season.

In a league that is putting increasing value on shotmaking from the point guard position, Mudiay had yet to improve upon the biggest concern that had been voiced about his game the night he was drafted. Namely, his erratic offensive game. And, he was facing new competition.

A new No. 7 pick

Shooting was never viewed as a concern for Murray. The Nuggets had the No. 7 pick for the second year in a row last June and selected the freshman from Kentucky, who boldly claimed on draft night: “I believe I can hit any shot.”

The 19-year-old’s supreme confidence didn’t end there. Murray made it clear to anyone who would listen that he could a standout point guard. He played off the ball at Kentucky with Tyler Ulis running the point. But the Nuggets had seen Murray effectively play point guard as a member of the Canadian national team during the Pan American Games and believed he was capable of playing the position in the NBA.

The Nuggets wanted to be able to look back at the end of Murray’s rookie season and have a complete picture of what he could bring to the backcourt. Even as he missed the first 17 shots of his career, Malone and his staff never doubted Murray as a shooter. Sure enough, the rookie responded in November by hitting 42.7 percent of his 3-point attempts.

When Mudiay went down, the Nuggets got to see more of the Murray puzzle. When the rookie stepped into the role of backup point guard, his productivity rose. Since Jan. 21, when he became the full-time backup at the point, Murray has averaged 11.3 points while shooting 42.7 percent from the field. He’s averaging 2.2 assists and 1.4 turnovers in 21.2 minutes per game.

Each game seems to generate more confidence for Murray, who never lacked for it. He scored 17 points in the second half against the Wizards on Wednesday, helping the Nuggets trim a 24-point deficit to eight points in the closing minutes.

“It’s a lot of fun playing my favorite position and having the ball in my hand,” Murray said. “I’m confident (point guard) is where I want to be. I’m just trying to make the most of it.”

Nothing is guaranteed for Mudiay as the Nuggets continue to fight for a playoff berth. Malone has said Nelson is his point guard for the foreseeable future, and he’s relying on the steady veteran to set the tone in the playoff chase. And it doesn’t seem Murray will be losing any minutes.

Mudiay insists he is determined to stay positive as he deals with the loss of a starting job that had been the only thing he’d known in his brief NBA career.

“It’s different, but I’m just trying to stay ready as much as possible,” he said. “I’m just working on my game. I can only control what I can control.”

The guy who took Mudiay’s job believes there is still a bright future ahead for the player who offered so much hope for the franchise only a year ago.

“The thing with ‘E,’ which I told him a week or two ago, is: ‘You’re going to have a long career. Don’t let this be something that gets you down,’ ” Nelson said. “It’s a little adversity. We all hit this at some point in our life or in our career. It’s how you get out of it that determines who you are. He’s a great teammate, and he’s going to be good.”

Three’s a crowd

A closer look at the performance this season by the Nuggets’ three point guards — Jameer Nelson, Jamal Murray and Emmanuel Mudiay — entering Friday: