The Denver Nuggets had been relatively healthy through the first 10 games of the 2025-26 season, but unfortunately, that changed tonight.
During the first quarter vs the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night, both Cameron Johnson and Christian Braun exited the game due to injury.
Johnson, according to Nuggets PR, is questionable to return with a right arm strain, a unique injury that happened while rebounding vs center Ivica Zubac in the first quarter. The severity of the injury is unknown at this time.
Braun’s injury was more concerning initially. At the end of the first quarter while defending James Harden, the Clippers shooting guard stepped on Braun’s right foot, causing an awkward step by Braun with his left foot that left him severely hobbled at the left calf area.
Braun exited and returned to the game later in the second quarter, but he moved gingerly and was clearly hindered by the injury. He exited, and an update hasn’t been given at this time.
There’s no real need to speculate extensively on how severe the injuries are. Suffice to say that the Nuggets would be greatly impacted if they lost their starting shooting guard and starting small forward for a significant period of time.
Playing every starter on the second night of a back-to-back was an interesting decision by David Adelman and the Nuggets coaching staff. A determination was clearly made that the Nuggets were all good to go and didn’t need extra rest. This is a natural byproduct of playing hard and trying every game though. Injuries happen.
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Spencer Jones started the second half. Updates on Braun and Johnson will be given when provided.