Wind Chimes: Christian Braun already looks like a keeper

Welcome to Wind Chimes, a notebook of reporting, observations and analysis from me about what I’ve seen, heard and talked to people around the team about over the last week.

Some words on the Nuggets’ rookie sensation

Christian Braun was the first draft pick of the Calvin Booth era. He was the first selection that Booth made as the Nuggets’ top basketball decision-maker and represented a shift into a new era of roster building in Denver. Under Booth, the Nuggets want to fill their backcourt with players like Braun: Big guards (Braun is a legit 6-6) who can defend and possess an all-around, high IQ floor game that can fit alongside Nikola Jokic.

Braun’s rise in Michael Malone’s rotation throughout the first two weeks of the regular season has been meteoric. He’s gone from a rookie who was out of the rotation on opening night in Utah to someone who it feels like has to get minutes every single game.

I know Booth felt very confident selecting Braun 21st overall in the draft. He probably would have taken him even earlier if the Nuggets were picking higher up in the first round. That’s how much he liked Braun. I also know that Booth envisioned Braun making an impact this season. But I don’t know if he saw him overtaking Davon Reed on the wing this soon. Now, after seven games, it’s not even close. Braun is so much more talented than Reed. He does so much more every time he’s out there. There isn’t much of a debate anymore about which perimeter player adds more value when he’s on the floor.

Nuggets fans can feel it too. Braun is already a fan favorite in Denver, and he’s loved by Nuggets Nation for the same reason why he’s loved by Malone: He plays hard and always makes stuff happen.

“People respect people that work hard,” Malone said.” “He might miss a shot, he might make a mistake, but if you play hard, people are going to root for you.”

Braun isn’t just a try-hard either. He’s a damn good defender. He can be special on that end of the floor. It’s not just his motor, which is elite, but it’s also his defensive awareness and IQ that blow you away. Take his three steals against Golden State for example.

Braun plays like someone who’s studied NBA offenses and player tendencies for a decade. It always feels like he has a good sense for his matchup too. Braun looks like he does his homework in the film room. He’s also always in the right place at the right time. His defensive rotations are on point. He anticipates plays before they happen like a 10-year vet would. You don’t see a lot of rookies enter the NBA with his level of defensive understanding.

Against the Jazz last week, Michael Porter Jr. completely lost Malik Beasley on this backdoor cut, but Braun was there to clean up his teammate’s mistake. He rotated over from the opposite side of the paint, beat Beasley to the middle of the floor and skied for this block.

You have to be impressed by Braun’s mindset for a rookie. He’s come in and identified what the Nuggets require from him. Denver needs a role player who’s going to play hard, execute defensively, make hustle plays, generate steals and turnovers, and not do too much on the offensive end. It’s the type of player Braun has always been.

“I think that this roster allows me to be myself,” Braun said.

“I was taught the right way to play from a young age. I’ve had good coaches and good mentors in my life. My whole life I played for a good AAU program. That kind of instilled that in me from when I was young. People try to get on the court scoring, when you get on the court by hustling, by playing defense, by doing things that other people don’t want to do. That’s how you get your shot, and then when you get your shot everything else gets to show.”

How can you not be impressed by this kid’s mindset? He’s going to be in this league for a long time just because of the approach he’s taking as a rookie. Braun already looks exactly like the ultimate glue guy and strong two-way player that every championship contender wants off its bench.

“I know that for me to get on the court, this team doesn’t need me to shoot the basketball. They’ve got Jamal, they’ve got the two-time MVP, they’ve got Mike. They don’t need that from me. They need hustle. They need guys who are going to play hard every possession, play defense, and I’m more than willing to do that just to get on the court.”

More Chimes

This was a perfect baseline out-of-bounds (BLOB) play that the Nuggets ran in their home opener vs. the Thunder. It puts everyone except Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic on the weak side of the court. Murray then inbounds the ball to Jokic and the two go into a two-man game where they’re the only two players on that side of the floor. It creates a quick, isolated pick-and-roll between Jokic and Murray that’s usually going to lead to a high-quality look.

I don’t know how much Denver has worked on this set considering some Nuggets players look confused by what Jokic is signaling, or if this is an actual play or just an in-the-moment call from Jokic. But it should be in the playbook. This can be a great pet action to generate an easy two.

Where in the world is Zeke Nnaji? It wasn’t that long ago when Nnaji was the talk of training camp. He put on 10 pounds of muscle and added four inches to his vertical last offseason. He transitioned to backup center this summer — although Nnaji has said repeatedly that he prefers to play power forward and that he thinks it’s his best position (I agree with him) — and was performing well in practices and scrimmages.

He also made some tweaks to his already strong jump shot and looked like an improved shooter on Dever’s practice court. I heard that over the summer Nnaji shot 225-300 on catch-and-shoot 3s in a drill with Nuggets coaches and Denver’s front office watching.

But he’s been buried on the bench through the Nuggets’ first seven games. DeAndre Jordan entered the season as Denver’s backup center, which is a development that you shouldn’t have been surprised by if you read Wind Chimes this offseason, but Nnaji has barely gotten a shot. He’s played rotation minutes in just one game so far. And while he did not play well in that game (Nnaji secured zero rebounds in nine minutes and Denver was outscored by 10 points with him on the floor) I expected him to get more of a chance than he’s gotten so far this season.

Jordan has been fine and so far has played better than I expected, but I’m still anticipating his minutes to dwindle late in the season. I don’t think he’s someone you’re going to want out there in the playoffs. It would be smart to play Nnaji more than Denver has so far.

This is a big year for Nnaji. He’s in his third NBA season, and how Nnaji performs this year will determine how eager the Nuggets will be to give him a contract extension next summer. At this rate, that extension isn’t coming and Nnaji looks like a likely trade candidate ahead of February’s deadline. Things can change quickly and Nnaji could get his opportunity soon, but I expected him to play a much more significant role than he has so far.