KU’s Christian Braun confident Denver Nuggets can dig out of 2-0 hole vs. Timberwolves

The NBA schedule makers have given the Denver Nuggets plenty of time to reflect on Monday’s 106-80 home loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, a humbling setback that has the defending NBA champs down 0-2 in the second-round Western Conference series heading into Friday’s Game 3 in Minnesota.

“We’ve all talked about it as a team, what we need to do as a team. Coach (Michael Malone) did a really good job of bringing everybody in and just kind of getting us all in the same mindset,” said Christian Braun, the Nuggets’ second-year guard out of the University of Kansas.

“Nobody has really stood up and addressed the team (as far as individual players). I think we all have an understanding that we are down 0-2 and we do need to respond. We do need to fix things. Everybody knows that.”

He was speaking after practice Wednesday in Denver, following Tuesday’s day off in which Braun and his teammates stayed away from the gym.

“Everybody knows you get down 0-2 — you lose two games in that fashion (by seven points, then 26 points) at home in front of our fans — we know what we need to do to respond. I think we are going to do it. I think we came with good energy today. Everybody is in a good place as a team to do it,” Braun added.

Losing Game 2 by 26 points has certainly tested the defending champs’ collective pride.

Denver guard Reggie Jackson has said the Nuggets were “punked” by the Timberwolves, who will be eager to go up 3-0 on Friday night and effectively end the Nuggets’ hopes of repeating. It’s a best-of-seven series.

“You’ve got to take it personally,” Braun, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound, 23-year-old graduate of Blue Valley Northwest, said. “Kind of like Reggie said, you can’t be getting punked on your home floor. Not being physical, not being tough, that’s not who we are. That’s not anybody on this team. I know we’ll respond.”

Braun said “100%, absolutely,” when asked by a media member Wednesday if he believes he can help the Nuggets be more physical defensively in Game 3.

He scored seven points on 3-of-5 shooting (1-1 from 3) with two rebounds while playing 19 minutes in the Nuggets’ seven point loss to the Wolves in Game 1 in Denver. In Game 2, he had two points, two rebounds, a steal and a block in 11 minutes.

“I think we can be tougher physically from the jump. You can’t let a team come out there and be more physical than you every single game, however many games in a row it’s been,” Braun said.

The Nuggets have had slow starts dating to their first-round Western Conference series against the Los Angeles Lakers, which Denver won, 4-1. “It’s kind of been a theme. You can’t work your way into a game. You have to come ready to play,” Braun added.

Braun, a starter on KU’s 2022 NCAA title team and rotation player on the Nuggets’ 2023 NBA championship team, is not ready to enter an offseason on a losing note. He’s confident and he says his teammates are confident they can get back on track, even if it is on the road.

“Knowing what needs to be done, knowing who we are, knowing what we are capable of,” Braun said. “Everybody here, you guys (media) included, have seen this team win a championship. I don’t think confidence is a problem.

“We’ve got to clean up some things on the court, be better mentality-wise on the court, be physically tougher, mentally tougher, all those things. I think going forward we’re going to do that. We’re going to make some changes. We’ll be right back,” Braun added.

The Nuggets need to find an answer to slowing down budding star Anthony Edwards of the Wolves. Edwards, a one-and-done player at the University of Georgia now in his fourth year in the NBA, had 27 points, seven assists and two rebounds in Game 2 after scoring 43 points with seven rebounds and three assists in the opener.

“He is great with his bumps, with his footwork, getting to his spots,” Braun said. “He is athletic. He is strong. It is very important. You can’t let him bump you and get open midrange shots or whatever he wants. It feels like he’s kind of getting whatever he wants in a way.

“It’s not a one person thing either. It’s group defense. It’s how we play. ... It’s top to bottom. That goes on both side of the ball. We’ve got to do better. Every single person who gets a chance to play to get in there, we’ve just got to be better.”

The Nuggets on Wednesday were pleased to hear Nicola Jokic was named league MVP for the third time in four seasons. He had 16 points, 16 rebounds, eight assists and four turnovers in Game 2 and 32 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and seven turnovers in the opener.

“I’ve said it a million times, just his discipline, coming in and working every single day. He is out there every game, scoring, assisting, defending, doing a little bit of everything for this team,” Braun said. “It feels like he’s available for every single game. He battles. He works on his body, all that while being a really good dude off the court, being a good person in the locker room, being a good person to whoever he runs into. He makes his own case for it (MVP). He’s an amazing person, player.”