Christian Braun shouldered the responsibility for Nuggets loss, longer losing streak

Christian Braun is one of the youngest players on the Denver Nuggets roster as he nears the end of his third season in the NBA. He was an important bench piece on the 2022-23 team that won a title, and has now blossomed into a formidable starting two-guard this year.

One of the toughest traits for an NBA player to inherit is leadership, especially on a team like the Nuggets that has a fair amount of veterans. While the team has been struggling, Braun has made sure to step up off the court, face the tough questions, and take responsibility for the team’s struggles.

“The locker room knows [the importance of the final games of the season] and that’s on me to make sure that we’re ready before we run out, that we’re ready when we step on the court, that throughout the game someone’s got to talk to them and that’s got to be me,” Braun said after scoring a career-high 30 points in Sunday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers.

There is clearly a lack of urgency within the Nuggets organization besides the efforts of Nikola Jokic and Braun. Michael Malone is struggling to find a way to get his guys to play defense, Jamal Murray is hurt in April once again and all eyes are on Russell Westbrook after his performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves last week.

The defense has been a struggle for Denver lately, as the team sits at a measly 20th-place amongst the rest of the league in defensive rating. When the Nuggets need a stop, it seems like a nearly impossible feat to achieve. Denver has let up less than 115 points just once in the previous 10 games, and that game was against the tanking San Antonio Spurs who didn’t have their two best players (Denver still found a way to lose that game).

Braun had a simple answer for what the team needs to adjust in order to have a competitive defense come playoff time.

“It’s me. I think it’s me. I think I’ve got to communicate better, I’ve got to talk better,” Braun said. “The coaches put us in good spots. They make sure to tell us where we’re at, what we’re doing. We’ve just got to execute on the court better. It’s the guys that are on the court, we’ve got to communicate with each other, to each other, before the game starts, when the game’s playing, we’ve just got to be better at communicating.”

This Nuggets team has talent, there’s no question about that. The starting five were all responsible for the championship just two years ago, and showed that they have what it takes to compete, especially on the defensive end of the floor.

However, no team can just keep that mentality in its back pocket and then pull it out come playoff time.

“We need to be ready at all times,” Braun said. “You don’t want to try to flip the switch. I know how good our guys are … They can flip that switch, I know how good they are, but you don’t want to be a team that has to flip a switch.”

With just three games left for Denver, the team sits in fourth place in the Western Conference, half a game ahead of four teams tied for fifth. With home-court advantage in the first round on the line, the team needs to do whatever they can to find their identity and win some games before the postseason begins.