Last season, the Nuggets finished last in the ranking of the most prolific 3-point teams with 31 attempts per game. A figure which should not increase since the 2023 NBA champions lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Reggie Jackson and Justin Holiday, and they recruited “only” Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric, who are not specialists of the genre . What does Mike Malone think first?
“The reality is if Jamal Murray takes one more 3-pointer per game, if Michael Porter takes one more 3-pointer per game, if Nikola takes one more 3-pointer per game, if match, we move from 30th to 15th place (in terms of attempts),” underlines the Denver coachwho would like his team to climb to 35, 36 shots per game. “I know we focus on that, but we are skilled and we have very good shooters. »
On the management side, we are less categorical, and we do not rule out recruiting one more shooter. “I think there are two aspects to this question, one of which is more philosophical” replies President Calvin Booth. “The other is to say to ourselves that we are on a tightrope with Russell Westbrook, Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson in the rotation. I think we can rule out Christian Braun because he was shooting 43% after the All-Star Game was cut. But we'll be a tightrope, and we'll have to watch that. If we need to shoot at the trade deadline, we will do it.”
Do we need 3-point shots when the game is focused on Nikola Jokic?
As for the philosophical aspect, it comes down to the fact that the Nuggets have the best player in the NBA, and quite simply, they don't need to imitate the others with a lot of 3-point shots.
“For example, if Nikola Jokic is better than everyone in the world, why do the same thing as them and make it random? If we shoot the same number of 3-pointers as the worst team in the league, and they make more than us that night, they could beat us.” Booth said. “Nikola Jokic should not lose matches like that. So I think part of the equation is that we have the best player in the world and the way he plays or runs the game means we don't get a lot of 3-point shots. He's the best floater shooter in the league. One of the best mid-range shooters in the league. Michael Porter Jr. shot 55% from mid-range last year. So I think it's a more complex topic than just saying, “We don't have enough shots, and what are we going to do about it?” » »
