Over the last year, Denver Nuggets fans and Christian Braun have had a polarizing relationship. Sure, he was injured and never fully healthy last year, and he played poorly overall. But that injury is in the rearview mirror now, and the only thing stopping Braun from living up to his end of his five-year, $125 million contract extension is playing like an elite role player on a nightly basis. So far, he's two-for-two to start the season. Imagine how good he could be if he could knock down a three?
I've been hard on Braun. The collective "we" have been hard on Braun. But he's done exactly what he needs to do to quiet the criticism over the first two games.
Braun's played his role at a near-elite level through two games
While Braun didn't light up the scoreboard against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the season opener, no Nugget did. But he was one of the main defenders who held two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to just 17 points, snapping his NBA record streak of 141 games in a row scoring 20 points or more. Braun also played his role by grabbing 3 offensive rebounds, and the Nuggets converted all three by scoring 6 second-chance points.
Braun's defense was on full display again in game two in the home opener against the New Orleans Pelicans. He played the final 6:20 of the fourth quarter and all of overtime, and his perimeter defense helped smother the Pelicans and limit them to just 17 points, 13 from the free-throw line, over those 11:20 minutes. And he helped hold the Pelicans to just 2-for-18 shooting over that stretch. Braun also had a solid night on the boards, snagging 8, 2 of them on offense.
Braun came alive as a cutter in this game, too. He had three cutting drives off direct assists from Nikola Jokic that he converted for 6 points at the rim, and he finished the game with 12 points in the paint. He also knocked down a mid-range jumper just off the elbow midway through the fourth, finishing the game 7/8 from two and with 15 total points.
Unfortunately, he couldn't knock down a three, but the hope is that he finds that form eventually. It would open up the Nuggets' offense so much more, especially with Cam Johnson out of the lineup.
As long as Braun keeps playing like this, he's close to living up to his contract and becoming an elite role player. The only thing holding him back at the moment is those threes. If those start falling, he's well on his way.
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