Warriors already have one huge advantage on major conference rival

Shooting, shooting, shooting. That's been the theme of the Golden State Warriors preseason after head coach Steve Kerr promised as such throughout training camp.

It was once again the shooting that propelled the Warriors to a comfortable win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, having started out 10-of-11 from beyond the arc as they built a 20-point lead in the second-quarter.

Golden State is currently second in average three-point makes (17.5) this preseason, and second in three-point percentage (40.5%). Take out the preseason opener against the Clippers and they're a league-best 47.2% from beyond the arc. They've done all this with their best player, and the best shooter of all-time -- Stephen Curry -- playing in just 45 of a possible 192 minutes.

The shooting has provided the backbone to the Warriors' flawless 4-0 record, and while that doesn't mean too much in the grand scheme of things, it has provided optimism of what the team could do as the season develops.

The Warriors three-point shooting already gives them a huge advantage over the Denver Nuggets

Despite losing Klay Thompson during the offseason, Golden State hope their three-point shooting can bring an even bigger point of difference in 2024-25. That won't be the case against every opposing team, but it will bring a major advantage against some.

One of those is the Denver Nuggets -- a Western Conference rival who the Warriors have struggled mightily against over the past two seasons. After losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the Orlando Magic in free agency, there's rightfully been fears surrounding the lack of shooting on the Nuggets roster.

That's proven correct so far throughout preseason. Denver is 26th in three-point attempts (34.3) and 20th in three-point percentage (31.1). Following Sunday's four-point loss to the Phoenix Suns, starting forward Michael Porter Jr. referenced the team's lack of three-point shooting, identifying only himself and the largely unproven Julian Strawther as the only options in terms of high-volume snipers.

In a piece for the San Francisco Standard on Monday, Tim Kawakami mentioned the Warriors being "built to steal some wins" during the regular season. While he may be outlining that in reference to the depth on the roster, it also applies to the team's shooting.

Every knowledgable fan/analyst understands that Denver enters this season as a far more highly-touted team than Golden State. Yet even if the Nuggets do prove to be the better team overall, the sheer contrast in three-point shooting could allow the Warriors to steal one, two or maybe all three of the teams' matchups throughout the course of the regular season.

Given their recent history, taking a win or two off Denver would be big for Golden State. The Nuggets have won the last seven games between the two teams over the past two seasons, and have won 11 of 12 regular season battles dating back to the start of 2021-22.

The Nuggets may still have their own major advantage in the form of 3x MVP Nikola Jokic, but at least now the Warriors have a distinct weapon of their own when the two teams meet for the first time in an NBA Cup game on December 3.