One of the key ways Phoenix Suns' head coach Mike Budenholzer has put his fingerprints on this current roster of players so far this season is having them lean more heavily into 3-point shooting. This makes complete sense, the Suns are stocked full of guys who can knock down a shot from deep.
They got even richer in this area over the offseason, adding a point guard in Tyus Jones who last season with the Washington Wizards shot 41.1 percent from 3-point range. Given Grayson Allen led the entire league in this category last time out (46.1 percent), and Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant are elite from deep too, the early returns on letting it fly have led to a fast start.
But how much can center Jusuf Nurkic help in this area?
Nurkic has regularly come in for criticism since landing in Phoenix last season, despite the fact the Suns clearly won the trade that jettisoned Deandre Ayton in favor of Nurkic and Allen. He's limited in what he can do in the paint - but in a strange quirk few saw coming - he somehow played the most regular season games for the Suns last season at 75.
Remaining healthy while having an offensive impact surpassed all modest expectations put in place for him in The Valley. The Suns might have been swept in the playoffs - and Nurkic had a dreadful time battling Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns essentially on his own - but his demeanour and willingness to do the dirty work are crucial for the Suns.
So too is his handling and passing ability out of the post, with Nurkic joining the dots offensively on any given possession. With the introduction of Jones to settle things down and actually run plays though, it has allowed coach Budenholzer to embark on what appears to be one of his favorite journeys. Turning a plodding big man into a threat from beyond the arc.
The most famous example of this obviously being Brook "Splash Mountain" Lopez, whose 3-point shooting created the space necessary for the Milwaukee Bucks to win an NBA Championship in 2021. In nine seasons with the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets, Lopez never averaged more than an attempt from this range per game. With the Bucks? It's five attempts across seven seasons.
Lopez actually began to move away from the basket the season before landing in Milwaukee with the Los Angeles Lakers, a point we will come back to. Coach Budenholzer saw a chance to turn a limited big man offensively into a weapon in an entirely different way, and it paid off. Already he's attempting the same with Nurkic, who is up to 2.7 attempts from 3-point range.
The results haven't been great - he's knocked down a paltry 21.1 percent of these - but there are two reasons to have genuine hope in this experiment. The first is that - much like Lopez in Los Angeles - Nurkic was actually beginning to stray from the paint in his final couple of seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers.
I asked Mike Budenholzer about his decision to stick with Jusuf Nurkic instead of going small down the stretch: “It’s a little bit of a gut and a feel thing, and I just thought Nurk was good tonight….each night, different guys, we’ve gotta try to read it and feel it.” pic.twitter.com/Uo6fQkBxo1
— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) November 5, 2024
In his final season there he took 2.3 attempts from 3-point range, and actually converted on 24.4 percent of them. Which means that currently has a career high in attempts from 3-point range, and a career low in makes. That's got to eventually meet in the middle if he keeps firing away though? Right?
Actually yes, and that will likely be because of his shooting form. If you've seen Nurkic take these shots - which given the three stars he plays with often comes with nobody remotely close to him - then you'll notice that his form is pretty good. Smooth and with no real hitches, it is a confident stroke for a guy who hasn't launched a ton of bombs throughout his career.
Jusuf Nurkic practicing 3s during Suns’ shootaround before hosting Lakers on Monday.
— DANA (@iam_DanaScott) October 28, 2024
Nurkic, who lost weight this offseason to shoot more 3 attempts in new Suns coach Budenholzer’s offense, is 1-of-9 from deep in the Suns’ first three games, and hit 22-of-90 last year. pic.twitter.com/Q2DQOBVmae
If the mechanics were off or Nurkic looked uncomfortable, fans would be calling for coach Budenholzer to wave the white flag on this experiment. But much like Lopez before him, the numbers and the eye test combine to tell the story of a guy who is going to add a couple of seasons onto his career once he reaches 35 percent mark. Which Nurkic should be aiming to achieve this season.
It is exciting to think what that could mean for the Suns come the playoffs. Last season Gobert didn't have to worry about following Nurkic out of the paint and into deep waters, while offensively the Suns didn't run many actions to switch smaller players onto him far from the basket. That could all change - and soon - and it could be the final phase in unlocking the obvious talent of this group.