Wind Chimes: Why Michael Porter Jr. may become an even better shooter this season

Welcome to Wind Chimes, a notebook of reporting, observations and analysis from me about what I’ve seen, heard and talked to people around the team about over the last week.

Is MPJ shooting it better than ever?

During the 2020-21 season, the last time Michael Porter Jr. was healthy, he shot 44.5% from 3 on 6.3 attempts per game. Of the 49 players who attempted at least 350 3-pointers over the course of that season, only Joe Harris (47.5%) was more accurate from beyond the arc. On catch-and-shoot 3s, Porter was even more deadly, converting 46.5% of those attempts. Above the break, Porter shot 43.6%. From the corners, he sunk 48.4% of his tries.

So how does an already elite and potentially all-time shooter get better at shooting? He works on the details. He improves on the margins. That’s what Porter did this summer.

I recently chatted with a source with knowledge of the forward’s offseason workouts. He told DNVR that Porter put a lot of work into his shot over the last several months. Specifically, his focus was staying shot-ready and getting his shot off quicker.

As a result, Porter’s nearly unblockable 3-point shot may have become even more unblockable. He shot 13-27 (48%) from 3-point range across five preseason games.

And here’s a look at how his shot has progressed since his rookie season.

Porter has always had a fairly quick and smooth release. It’s part of what makes his jumper so damn beautiful. And while it’s a subtle improvement, his shot looks even further refined so far this year. Credit the hours and hours he spent working on it this summer. Those close to Porter say that this is the best shooter that he’s ever been.

One drill that Porter put himself through during every workout this summer, a source told DNVR, required him to make 50 3s before missing two in a row. If he missed two in a row, he’d have to start over until he beat the drill. The thinking is this: No wasted shots during a long period of time where he’s forced to stay locked in. That work looks like it’s paying off.

Fair or unfair, I don’t know if any Nuggets player has more pressure on them this season than Porter. He needs to be the hyper-efficient shooter that he was in 2020-21 while meshing with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray and improving enough defensively so that Michael Malone can keep him on the floor in winning time. He needs to do that while returning from last year’s back surgery.

I’m confident in line item No. 1. Porter’s jumper looks better than ever right now. We’ll see about No. 2 and 3. I will say that the silver lining from Murray missing most of the preseason was that Porter and Jokic had two games last week to really focus on building their two-man chemistry without Denver’s starting point guard on the floor. I think they made substantial progress.

Jokic looked to get Porter going early in the Nuggets’ preseason matchup against the Clippers last week. Three of Porter’s four field goals in his 15 minutes came via Jokic assists. They looked smooth in the dribble hand-off too. We’ll quickly their chemistry continues to develop going forward.

More Chimes

I’m buying Peyton Watson stock: Watson only logged 48 minutes in the preseason, but man, did he flash during that limited run. I’m not expecting Watson to be a contributor this season — he’ll likely spend most of it in Grand Rapids with the Gold — but it’s a really encouraging sign that he looks much-improved since Summer League. I’m buying Watson stock, and I think Denver is too. The Nuggets will just have to wait a year until they can cash it in. Here are his five steals and five blocks from the preseason. He looks like a future defensive force, regardless of if his offense reaches an NBA level.

Uniform tracker: The Nuggets open the season with two games on the road in Utah and Golden State. Denver will wear its traditional white uniform for both of those games. The Nuggets then return to Denver for their home opener on Oct. 22 vs. Oklahoma City where they’ll debut the newly revamped Mile High City statement edition uniforms. Other early dates for the Mile High City alternates are Oct. 30 at the Lakers and Nov. 5 at home vs. the Spurs. The Nuggets’ yet-to-be-released city edition uniform will be worn for the first time on Nov. 16 at Ball Arena vs. the Knicks. Denver will also wear them two days later in Dallas on Nov. 18.