Nuggets are raining threes while their once-dominant paint offense dries up

The Denver Nuggets have relied heavily on perimeter shooting amid a sharp drop in their inside scoring early in the season. In a 127-120 NBA Cup win against the Phoenix Suns, Jamal Murray and Christian Braun each converted seven three-pointers on nine attempts. The team combined for 20 threes on 54.1% shooting from deep, lifting them to seventh in the league in three-point efficiency through five games.

However, writer David Decker points out that Denver managed just 32 points in the paint against the Suns, ranking 25th league-wide with 42.8 per game. Nikola Jokic has experienced a slow start by his standards, averaging 21.2 points per game, leading Decker to note that Denver's frontcourt must revive its interior offense to avoid overreliance on perimeter shooting.