“We are not a good shooting team”

Volume from 3-point range wasn't a problem for the Nuggets, at least on opening night.

It was definitely efficiency.

Denver missed 32 of 39 shots from outside in Thursday night's 102-87 season-opening loss to the Thunder, capping the worst 3-point shooting game statistically of the Michael Malone era, which is entering its 10th year.

There have only been 12 games in Malone's coaching tenure – regular season or playoffs – in which the Nuggets have shot 3-pointers worse than their 17.9% mark on Thursday. In only four of those games did they attempt 30 or more three-pointers. They attempted 35 or more in just one: Nov. 14, 2015, in Phoenix. This was Malone's tenth game in Denver. The Nuggets were 6 for 35 (17.1%) on the day.

Given the volume and success, the 2024-25 opener was as bad as any game he has coached. And even though the Nuggets only have one game left this season, their superstar was clear about their current reality.

“We are not a good shooting team,” said Nikola Jokic. “Except probably Mike (Porter Jr.) and then Jamal (Murray). We're all kind of streaky – not streaky, but you know, just average shooters. So, yes. But we have something else. We can probably be better and have an advantage in some other things on the field.”

Not even the reservations he outlined were reservations about this loss, which is one reason Malone didn't jump to conclusions even after the fact. After an underwhelming preseason, Porter shot 3-for-10 from 3-point range. After a less-than-stellar summer, Murray shot 2-for-5.

They felt cold as the Oklahoma City refrigerator magnets stuck to them. Porter's shots seemed rushed and forced for the first time since the playoffs, when Minnesota's elite defenders forced him to fight for every inch of space. The entire Thunder rotation can defend at this level, not just Lu Dort and Alex Caruso. But Dort and Caruso are a nightmare of a tandem leading the attack.

“They're really good at forcing you out, and then your actions are a little mixed up,” said freshman Christian Braun, emphasizing that he liked the Nuggets' shots even if they didn't convert. “We know these will fall. I don’t think we lost the game there.”

Brown is right. Denver ended up throwing a lot of open looks. The problem is that these looks were often a product of reputation. Most of the Nuggets' perimeter players have yet to establish one who commands Porter- or Murray-caliber respect. Oklahoma City happily double-teamed Jokic on every post-up and lived with the results.

Denver's trio of young rotation players combined for an 0-for-9 night from beyond the arc. Russell Westbrook was 1 for 6.

“I don’t think there’s any reason to panic,” Malone said. “Shooting is a concern for me at the start of the season. You're losing a guy like KCP, who was a 40% 3-point shooter. I thought Christian Braun was great tonight. Christian Braun will not be KCP. So I think we all need to understand that, which I think is the case, and accept CB for who he is. I think he defended really well, was competitive and ran the field. I thought CB did a lot of really good things for us. But no, there is no panic. Again, I think the bigger question is: Are we executing things the way we need to? We've seen (Jokic double teams) all postseason, last year in the playoffs. So did Nikola have a triple-double? Yes, he did. So he reads correctly.”

On the receiving end of these reads? It's difficult. Malone emphasized throughout training camp that he wants his players to take open threes with confidence. He cannot escape this message because of a single game. But he acknowledged that sometimes it's worth giving opponents free rein. “You also have the opportunity to be aggressive and not be satisfied,” said the coach.

He calmly and unflinchingly viewed the game as a whole, praising the Thunder, praising the Nuggets' defense even more and focusing on productive lessons learned from the loss.