Volume from three-point range wasn’t an issue for the Nuggets on opening night at least.

That certainly was efficiency.

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

There have been only 12 games in Malone’s coaching tenure — regular season or playoffs — in which the Nuggets shot the 3-pointer worse than their 17.9% clip Thursday. They attempted 30 or more 3s in just four of those games. They tried 35 or more in just one: November 14, 2015, in Phoenix. That was Malone’s 10th game in Denver. The Nuggets were 6 for 35 (17.1%) on the day.

Taking volume and success into account, the opening game of 2024-2025 was as bad as any he has coached. And even though the Nuggets are only one game into the season, their superstar was compelling about their current reality.

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

Even the caveats he made weren’t caveats about this loss, which is one of the reasons why Malone himself didn’t jump to conclusions afterward. After an eye-popping preseason, Porter shot 3 for 10 from 3-point range. After a less-than-stellar summer, Murray scored 2 for 5.

They got cold with Oklahoma City refrigerator magnets stuck on them. Porter’s shots seemed rushed and forced for the first time since the playoffs, as Minnesota’s equally elite defenders made him work for every inch of space. The entire Thunder rotation can guard at that level, not just Lu Dort and Alex Caruso. But Dort and Caruso are a nightmare of a lead-taking tandem.

“They’re really good at pushing you out, and then your actions are a little bit messed up,” new starter Christian Braun said, emphasizing that he liked the shots the Nuggets made even if they weren’t conversion-oriented. “We know they will fall. I don’t think we lost the game there.”

Braun is right. Denver ended up getting a fair number of wide-open looks. The problem is that those looks were often a product of reputation. Most of the Nuggets’ perimeter players haven’t established one that warrants Porter- or Murray-caliber respect. Oklahoma City happily sent double teams to Jokic on every post-up and lived with the results.

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

“I don’t think there’s any reason to panic,” Malone said. “Going into the season, shooting is a concern of mine. You lose someone like KCP, who was a 40% three-point shooter. I thought Christian Braun was great tonight. Christian Braun will not become a KCP. So I think we all have to understand that, which I think we’re doing, and embrace CB for who he is. I think he defended really well, competed and ran the floor. I thought CB did a lot of good things for us. But no, there is no panic. Again, I think the bigger question is: are we executing in the way we need to? We saw (Jokic double teams) all through the postseason, last year in the playoffs. So, did Nikola have a triple-double? Yes, he did. So he makes the right readings.

On the receiving end of those lectures? It’s difficult. Malone emphasized during training camp that he wants his players to play open 3s with confidence. He cannot deviate from that message based on one match. But he acknowledged that when opponents give a free lane, sometimes it’s worth taking it. “You also have the opportunity to be aggressive and not settle,” the coach said.

He had a calm, unflappable outlook on the game as a whole, praising the Thunder, praising the Nuggets’ defense even more and focusing on productive lessons from the defeat.