Josh Hart has helped the New York Knicks to a 3-1 series lead against the San Antonio Spurs, and he's done it the Bill Belichick way. Hart has done his job, and he's played his role spectacularly well. In the process, he's laid the framework for Christian Braun to copy. For the Denver Nuggets to get some postseason success next year, they will need to unlock Braun the way the Knicks unlocked Hart.
They're both wings with similar builds and profiles, but Hart has done the extra things in his role well that Braun has not. The Knicks are similar to the Nuggets in construction, with a scoring center in Karl-Anthony Towns and a scoring guard in Jalen Brunson, and solid role players around them. Hart is literally the Braun of the Knicks, but better in his role.
Hart has shown Braun what to do
Hart's lane obviously isn't scoring, and neither is Braun's. But Hart gets the rebounds and plays hard defense, plus he's making more good reads on his passes that the Nuggets would hope to get from Braun next year. Hart is second on the Knicks in rebounds this postseason at 8.8, and his 1.8 steals lead the team. Hart is averaging 4.7 assists while just barely cracking double digits in scoring at 10.3 points.
That is exactly what the Nuggets need from Braun next season. Braun has got to get more rebounds and transform on the defensive end. Perhaps he was playing hurt against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but combined with Jamal Murray, the Nuggets' backcourt couldn't stop the Wolves guards from getting into the paint. And they did poorly getting into the passing lanes, too.
Braun has shown flashes in the past of these same traits that Hart has. Hart has multiple games of more than 10 rebounds in the playoffs, and Braun has eight career games of more than 10 rebounds. He's absolutely capable of performing the Hart role for the Nuggets.
The Nuggets have to figure out the best way to use Braun
The Nuggets need to get Braun into a better defensive position first and encourage him to crash the boards more. And offensively, the Nuggets need Braun to find an extra pass, like Hart, if his three-point shot continues to behave the way it did this season. Nikola Jokic often found Braun wide open, and he just clanked the shots.
Or Braun should use the explosiveness the Nuggets saw before they extended him for $125 million over five years to get to the hoop.
Maybe the Nuggets didn't use Braun to the best of their ability last year, and maybe he was more injured than he or the Nuggets let on, which slowed him down dramatically. Whatever it was, the Nuggets need to figure out how to unlock Braun as the Knicks have with Hart to succeed in the playoffs.
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