Against the defending NBA champs, there will be no Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, or Bradley Beal.

The Phoenix Suns have nothing to be concerned about.

Fans who paid to see the Big Three, on the other hand, were undoubtedly upset.

Even though it was a preseason game, there were five things we learned about the Suns in their 115-107 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night at Footprint Center.

Josh Okogie discovers the range

Okogie defends the team’s top perimeter player, is athletic, active, and makes winning plays – but his inability to hit three-pointers proved costly in the playoffs (2-of-14 on three-pointers in ten playoff games).

So far, so good from thus early in the season.

Okogie scored 17 points in the first quarter after hitting his first two three-pointers.

One came from above, while the other came from around the corner. On two of them, he was left wide open. He missed his next three shots, then made one from the corner in the third quarter to finish 3-of-6 from deep.

I kept shooting at them. Making 3s is just as crucial as remaining aggressive.

Look, Okogie is a career 29.1% three-point shooter after hitting 33.5% of them last season.

He definitely fell short in the playoffs, but let’s say he makes 37% of them on three to four attempts this season. That’s one way he can continue in the starting lineup when Vogel has the option of going bigger with Keita Bates-Diop and having Durant play three.

Jokic is still a concern for the Suns

Even if Booker, Durant, and Beal are available, the Suns will have Jusuf Nurkic guarding Nikola Jokic and Okogie guarding Jamal Murray.

Jokic gave Nurkic and backup big Drew Eubanks the same looks he gave Deandre Ayton in last season’s playoffs and everyone else he’s devoured in winning two MVPs, a finals MVP, and becoming the best player in the league other than Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In the first half, Jokic beat Nurkic, his old Denver teammate, down the floor for a layup and scored on an offensive putback over Eubanks. He finished the first half with nine points on four of eleven attempts, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Seven misses, but he still received his normal stares. That will be an issue in a future game, whether regular season or playoffs. Jokic did not return for the second half.

Murray is also a problem

Murray, on the other hand, is a prolific scorer. He was questionable for the game due to right hamstring strain.

He finished the first half with 12 points, including a three-point play on a fouling Okogie, and five assists, including two to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for threes.

Caldwell-Pope added 12 points in the first half, nailing 3-of-4 three-point attempts.

Murray did not return for the second half.

Yes, it’s preseason, but Chris Paul stated last season that while Jokic is that player, Murray is the one that gets them going. Not good if the Suns can’t find a solution to guarding those two.

That’s not good at all.

Backup backcourt for Allen and Gordon?

The Suns will have either Booker, Durant, or Beal on the court at all times, but what if both Booker and Beal are fouled?

Who would they replace them with?

Grayson Allen and Eric Gordon might work together.

Both can shoot from long range and get to the basket.

Gordon is a bulldozer who simply knocks people over with his shoulders, whereas Allen is a slasher.

However, he lacks Gordon’s strength. On his efforts to gain the call, he’ll have to take some knocks to earn the respect of the refs.

If it means anything, Allen did have a 3-point play to start the third quarter after feeling he was fouled on a drive in the first half.

Defense requirements are met

In terms of floor defense, the Suns are still a work in progress.

Denver got clean looks from three-point range and found space on drives.

Phoenix definitely wasn’t at its best with Beal, Booker, and Durant resting, but everyone is learning how Vogel wants to defend.