It took just 1 game for Nuggets to empathically answer biggest offseason question

Things couldn’t have gone much worse for the Nuggets on the opening night of their NBA regular season. The team got spanked on their home floor by the Oklahoma City Thunder, 102-87 and frankly, the game wasn’t as close as the score. 

Many of the team’s biggest flaws and concerns were on full display during the ugly loss. Their bench play was abominable, the three-point shooting was anemic, and Jamal Murray looked like a glorified role player.

After one game, the Nuggets have a lot of questions to answer. They are going to have to make some changes and they are going to have to play a lot better. Luckily, they can take solace in the fact that they were playing one of the best teams in the league and they have a long season ahead of them to turn things around.

Christian Braun looked great in the starting lineup

On the other end of the spectrum, one of the lone bright spots for the Nuggets was one of their biggest question marks going into the season; the fifth starter. For the past couple of seasons, the Nuggets had one of the most steady and consistently dominant starting lineups in the NBA, trotting out Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic.

This lineup was as solid as they come and helped Denver win the championship in 2023. But with KCP leaving in free agency, the team had to move on and name a new fifth starter. Braun was the logical choice, having the longest tenure with the team, having a relatively proven track record, and providing a similar skill set to KCP.

In his first audition, Braun did an excellent job. He fit in seamlessly with the starting unit, pouring in 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot a respectable 8/15 from the floor and was a team-high +8 in 29 minutes.

The fact that the Nuggets won the 29 minutes Braun played by 8 means they lost the 19 minutes he sat by 23, which is extremely damning for the team. But it’s a great sign for Braun and his fit with the starting unit.

Braun brings a sort of youthful exuberance to the starting lineup that has been lacking in recent years. He plays with pace and a dash of controlled chaos and it makes good things happen. He’s able to cut and screen aggressively around the other players and he’s looking like an ace defender on the other end.

The one issue for Braun was that he only attempted three three-pointers and missed them all. He’s going to get a lot of clean looks playing with that group; he has to be willing to keep firing and obviously, he is going to have to make shots.

Aside from that, it was an excellent debut for the Nuggets’ new starting five and for Braun specifically in that role. With that question seemingly answered, at least for now, let’s hope the team can fix their other issues in short order.