There’s a certain amount of pressure any young player feels with the burden of new expectations.
For Christian Braun, that’s just life in the NBA.
“I’m just grateful for [the pressure]. That’s what I want. That’s what everybody in the world works for and everybody wants.”
To push back on Christian a bit, pressure is not what everyone in the world wants. Many people could go their entire lives to avoid that pressure if possible. But that’s what makes him such a competitor and what makes him successful. Christian Braun welcomes the pressure where few else are willing to go.
The Denver Nuggets suffered a really tough loss last playoffs to the Minnesota Timberwolves. For the players, it was unexpected. For Braun, it was gut-wrenching. Asking around the organization, Braun took the playoff exit harder than perhaps anyone else. He vowed to be better, and he probably will be.
Of course, stepping into the unknown can be challenging for anyone, especially on a team like the Nuggets where the formula had been so solid the last two seasons. Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope were the trusted group the Nuggets always went to. Now, KCP is gone, and Braun has an opportunity to step up in his place.
“I’m gonna go out and do what I do and play extremely hard. That’s all I can do is go out, you know, give my best every day, and that’s what I’ll do,” Braun shared after practice today. “I’m gonna come in here, work to get better at what I need to get better at, and then when the game time comes and I’m gonna play the game to win.”
Braun hasn’t been officially declared the starter at shooting guard yet. Head coach Michael Malone has played a bit of cat-and-mouse in that regard, hoping to avoid naming either Braun or Julian Strawther the opening night starter. There’s a reason for that, but for those that have paid attention, the job appears to be Braun’s initially. His defense, energy, and connectivity give the Nuggets a solid approximation of KCP, though the shooting is more of a question mark.
And that is a burden in it of itself. The expectations, playing next to the stars, especially ones as highly paid as Denver’s quartet. That will be difficult to manage night-to-night. There will be times when Braun messes up a key sequence, or doesn’t hit a needed shot, or shows his youth in some way.
But that’s all part of the growth curve, something the Nuggets are hoping Braun’s energy and willingness to work hard will overcome sooner than later.
“They ask me to play really hard, play defense, be unselfish, and those are all things that are really easy to do. Like I said, I’m given a lot. So, I’m expected to do those things, and those are easy for me.”
Playing hard, as Braun as said, has never been a challenge for the third-year Kansas wing. He earned a living playing harder than everyone else, working harder than everyone else. The Nuggets are betting on his work ethic, his character, to help him work through things.
But to be an everyday starter in the NBA, it takes more than effort. Playing as hard as possible for 82 games is a great way to burn out. Every NBA player has a candle that they light at the beginning of a career, and amping up the intensity every night is like holding a lighter directly on the wax. Burn for too long, and there’s nothing left.
Braun will need the skill development to come if he wants to stick in the NBA as a starter for a long time. He’s capable, but there are still responsibilities offensively as a scorer and playmaker, nuances that he will have to implement quickly to become the best player he can be.
There’s time enough for that as the season goes on. For now, intensity and high effort basketball could be exactly what this Nuggets team needs for a hot start.
“I’m just excited, man. I’m really excited for Thursday, I’m excited for the whole year. It’s a long season. It’s gonna be ups, it’s gonna be downs. There’s gonna be, you know, a learning process, learning curves, and I’m just excited for it all, man.”
Expecting Braun to be awesome immediately would be a bridge too far; however, I think he will be better as a starter than some expect him to be. The Nuggets core four is so good, and the responsibility they maintain is a lot. As long as there’s a focus for Braun to guard defensively every night, Braun will have an impact if he can reduce the effectiveness of that player. Opening night, Braun’s first assignment will be Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder. That certainly qualifies as a “focus” for Braun. He won’t shut down SGA, but if he can impact his game in some way and help the Nuggets win, that’s truly all anyone can ask for at the beginning.
Beyond defense, the offense will be a focus every night, in particular because of the uncertainty. Will Braun take even fewer shots than Caldwell-Pope? Will his role be slightly different? What kind of three-point percentage will he maintain? If Braun can keep his head above water on that end, the minutes will undoubtedly be positive.
Braun knows how much pressure faces him this year though. There’s a certain obligation to be good when surrounded by four players on $100+ million contracts. When the Nuggets starters struggle, everyone will look at him first, and that’s a heavy burden to bear.
For now, Braun’s just appreciative.
“This is an amazing opportunity for me. It’s amazing opportunity for a lot of young guys on this team. We get to go out and play hard and do what we do.”
On Thursday, opportunity meets reality for the first time.