Christian Braun and Peyton Watson can bring the Nuggets' dreams of a dynasty to life

Christian Braun says it wasn’t the best dunk of his basketball career, but it was probably his best as a Nugget.

“When I was in high school I had like a Kansas All-Star Game, I had a pretty crazy dunk that kind of went viral a little bit,” Braun said. “That was probably my best one.”

But this one was still pretty good.

Braun initiated lift-off with around seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of the Nuggets’ 124-101 win over the Nets and threw down a SportsCenter-worthy slam that symbolized the dominating effort that Denver put forward on Thursday.

It nearly blew the roof off Ball Arena.

“Christian has so much bounce, I don’t even think he realizes how much bounce he has,” Peyton Watson said. “Watching that play from behind was just special.”

CHRISTIAN BRAUN POSTER 🤯

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Braun was solid off the bench against Brooklyn, tallying 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 24 minutes. Watson was even better, finishing with a career-high 18 points (7-10 shooting), 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block

This was my favorite play that Watson made on Thursday. Playing power forward next to Nikola Jokic, Watson took a page out of Aaron Gordon’s playbook and floated to the basket from the dunker spot at the exact right time to receive this pass.

It feels like the game is slowing down for Watson every minute that he spends on the floor.

“He draws so much attention that it makes it easy for guys like me in the dunker spot to move around him,” Watson said. “Whether that’s positioning myself for an offensive rebound, cut and make myself available to score. So, I really just watch what he does. If he goes baseline, I move the way I should. If he goes middle, I know which way to go. It’s definitely a joy playing with him. He makes it easy.”

Braun, Watson, and rookie Julian Strawther, who’s firmly in the rotation and chipped in 8 points and 4 rebounds vs. the Nets, have become the backbone of a capable Nuggets second unit that’s led by Reggie Jackson.

It’s what general manager Calvin Booth envisioned for this roster when he was putting this team together over the offseason. He already knew what he had in Braun, but Booth believed that if Denver committed to playing and developing Watson, and Strawther also got a shot to contribute this season, the short-term ceiling, and more importantly longer-term runway for this Nuggets team would grow tremendously.

It was a risky proposition at the time but it looks like it’s already paying off.

Targeting veterans and ring chasers last summer could have filled out the Nuggets’ roster too. But Booth wanted to build the back end of this team organically with draft picks on multi-year team-friendly deals, like Braun, Watson, and Strawther are currently on, that could extend the Nuggets’ title window beyond just this season. He hoped to set the Nuggets up not just to repeat as champions but to win rings throughout the entirety of Jokic’s prime.

That’s the thinking behind Booth’s #ProjectDynasty.

That’s my term, not his.

So far, it’s going mostly according to plan. I’m sure Booth and the Nuggets’ front office would rather Zeke Nnaji be Denver’s full-time backup center and not cede minutes to DeAndre Jordan, but it doesn’t feel like he’s nearly as central to Booth’s long-term plan as the Nuggets’ other three youngsters are.

The youth movement taking place off the Nuggets’ bench is paying immediate dividends. Denver had 58 bench points vs. Brooklyn. The Nuggets had 50 bench points the other night in Chicago and 49 in Atlanta. After some rough patches over the last couple of weeks, the second unit is producing and learning how to play winning basketball together.

But they’re not close to reaching their potential. Braun, who’s the only one of the trio that played playoff minutes for the Nuggets last season, thinks he’s underachieved so far this year. He says he’s still trying to find the balance between his trademark lockdown defense and the offense that his new role this season requires.

Here’s what Braun had to say about his season so far on Thursday.

“In spurts, I’ve been really good offensively, but I know that I can play better defensively. And I think that I’ve got to do that more consistently. I’ve had flashes, but I think that this year I need to get back to being that defensive stopper that I had been in the past. And if im that, then I’ll play more. So just get back to playing defense and I think I’ll log more minutes.”

“Coming in as a rookie, my only job was to defend. My only job was to guard, whether it’s the best player, the second-best player, my only job was to chase them around and make their life tough. That was a win for me last year, if I could do that regardless of if I scored. I think that’s what’s important, is to continue to do that, continue to do that every game. So I’ve got to get back to that and I think I’ll play more.”

The Nuggets are 17-9 through 26 games. Last season through 26 games they were 16-10.

Jamal Murray has only played in 12 games so far. Denver has only played 11 home games in total. Going forward, the Nuggets have the fewest remaining back-to-backs in the league and Denver has the easiest remaining strength of schedule.

And it feels like the second unit is on the rise.

The Nuggets are in a great spot and trending upward. And if Denver’s bench continues on its current trend, it bodes extremely well for both the Nuggets’ present and future.