Heading into last night’s game, Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone had an important starting lineup decision to make.
Malone decided to go with Christian Braun over Russell Westbrook in the first game after the break, which made sense for a number of reasons. Braun had been playing very well for awhile before the All-Star break, and Jamal Murray had been coming into his own in the last two months as well.
With Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon already capable scorers, Westbrook’s energy makes a degree of sense in a sixth man capacity where he would still play the majority of his minutes with Nikola Jokic.
Malone reserved the right to change the lineup in the future, but for the next few games at least, expect the Nuggets to get Westbrook adjusted to a sixth man role.
On the latest episode of Pickaxe and Roll, Ryan Blackburn breaks down the Denver Nuggets 129-115 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night. Jamal Murray had an efficient 34 points, Nikola Jokic had 29 points, 17 rebounds, and nine assists, and the Nuggets took care of business against an inferior team.
Ryan breaks down Murray’s performance, starting Christian Braun over Russell Westbrook, and the power and pain of win streaks.
Pickaxe and Roll is a Nuggets podcast streamed live on YouTube every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 10am MT. You can catch episodes live by subscribing to the Mile High Sports YouTube channel and turning on Bell Notifications.
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