The Denver Nuggets had a tough start to their season, losing 102-87 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. While it’s too early to draw firm conclusions from just one game, reigning MVP Nikola Jokic is already pointing out a potential problem that could affect the team all season.
Following the lopsided loss, in which the Nuggets shot only 35.7% overall and a poor 18.4% from 3-point range, Jokic was straightforward about their shooting skills.
“We don’t shoot the ball really good, we’re not a good shooting team, except [Michael Porter Jr.] and Jamal [Murray],” Jokic said. “All of us are kind of streaky, not streaky, but you know just average shooters.”
Porter Jr. and Murray were the only players on the Nuggets to make more than one 3-point attempt during the game. In contrast, Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, Julian Strawther, Russell Westbrook, and Peyton Watson combined to go just 2 of 19 from beyond the arc. This performance was very poor, and according to Jokic, it doesn’t seem like an easy fix for Denver moving forward.
Among the teams competing for the championship, Denver likely had the toughest offseason after losing another important player from their 2022 title team, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. He was one of their best 3-point shooters for several years.
Instead of replacing KCP with a proven player, the team chose to rely on younger players like Braun, Strawther, and Watson to take his minutes. While Braun might be a decent defensive substitute for Caldwell-Pope, none of these players provide the shooting depth that Denver needs.
Adding to the problem, the Nuggets’ biggest signing this offseason was Russell Westbrook, who went 1 of 6 from beyond the arc and 2 of 10 in the game, highlighting the lack of shooting depth on the team.
This situation was expected after the Nuggets opted not to invest in experienced shooters, hoping that one of their younger players would step up on a low-cost contract while still aiming for a title. However, after just one game, this seems unlikely, and when the team’s star player is already pointing out issues with the roster, it raises concerns.
It’s not a total disaster. Missing from this discussion is the fact that the Nuggets were facing a Thunder team that could become an outstanding defensive group.
However, it wouldn’t be surprising if Denver’s management considers making some trades to improve the rotation, especially the bench. For now, they will need to find other ways to win games. This team isn’t one that will rely heavily on 3-pointers, and it hasn’t really been that way even during their 2022 title run.
Still, they ranked in the top half of the league for 3-point efficiency in each of the last three years. After Thursday’s performance, that doesn’t seem to be true for this year, which should raise concerns.
