Why this interesting stat means one Nugget must shoot even more

Much ado has been made of the Nuggets’ biggest weakness; their lack of three-point shooting. This issue has plagued the team for years as they’ve been one of the lowest volume shooting teams in a league that is mostly being dominated by the three ball.

The Nuggets need to find ways to up their attempts and with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Justin Holiday, and Reggie Jackson walking out the door, there is no external improvement coming in that regard. The team is going to have to rely on guys within the building to step up and become more willing shooters.

It’s a simple math game and if the Nuggets are getting dominated from behind the three-point line on a nightly basis, they are going to have to overcompensate in a lot of other ways to stay competitive. The team certainly has some good shooters in Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and even Nikola Jokic.

They’ll also be counting on big-time upticks in playing time and shooting volume from guys like Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, and especially Julian Strawther. But just upping minutes is no guarantee that it will lead to increased production and sustained efficiency. The Nuggets need another plan.

Well maybe, the plan has been right in front of them this whole time. Adam Mares of DNVR Sports shared a fascinating statistic recently highlighting the highest average release point on three-point attempts in the NBA (the data came from Second Spectrum and had a minimum threshold of 50 three-point attempts last season).

The height of Michael Porter Jr.'s 3-pt release point is an asset

Unsurprisingly, the 7’5’ behemoth, Victor Wembanyama topped the list with an average release height of 9.17 feet. But interestingly enough, right behind Wemby in second place on the list was Denver’s own Michael Porter Jr. at 9.13 feet.

MPJ is obviously very tall for a wing/sharpshooter who’s primarily a perimeter player, but this puts his size in a whole new light. We know he can take and make shots and playing off of Jokic and Murray allows him to get a ton of open looks.

But this stat suggests that even if he’s not open, MPJ can create separation simply with his normal jump-shot mechanics. There are very few players in the league who can consistently bother MPJ’s shot when it’s being released so high off the ground.

For Porter Jr. to maximize his skills on this team, he needs to lean into his strengths even more and start firing up threes at a higher volume. Even if he doesn’t seem open, all he needs is a step or two and he is going to be able to rise up and get his shot off over anyone.

If he can look for his shot even more and get up a few more attempts per game while sustaining his efficiency, that would go a very long way in solving the Nuggets’ biggest problem. It’s easier said than done, but shooters shoot. Giving MPJ an even greener light shouldn’t be something that’s difficult for him to adjust to and hopefully, the coaching staff sees things the same way.