Nuggets guard Christian Braun has been diagnosed with a left ankle sprain and will miss at least six weeks, the team announced Friday.
The injury occurred with 27 seconds left in the first quarter of Denver’s game on Wednesday. Braun was defending Clippers guard James Harden and limped away in visible pain after Harden stepped on his right foot, which seemingly caused Braun to take an awkward step and injure the left ankle.
The 24-year-old briefly checked back in during the second quarter but asked for a substitution when he struggled to put weight on his left leg.
Nuggets starting small forward Cam Johnson, who injured his right arm in the same game, has also been ruled out for Denver’s game at Minnesota on Saturday. Johnson was diagnosed with a right bicep strain, but he should be able to avoid a longer absence as he’s considered day-to-day, according to a team source.
Braun is averaging 11.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and three assists per game, but he’s been finishing at a less efficient rate than last year, when he was a candidate for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. In the first 11 games of this season, he shot 49.5% from the field (down from 58%) and 21.4% from the 3-point line (down from 39.7%).
The Nuggets will miss him regardless of his shooting splits, though. Braun is one of their best defenders and transition players in the starting lineup, which has an 11.9 net rating in 159 minutes together. He’s usually responsible for matching up on the opponent’s best guard when Denver plays man-to-man defense.
Tim Hardaway Jr. replaced Braun in the second half Wednesday, but two-way forward Spencer Jones took over the Harden matchup. Hardaway has been Denver’s sixth man this season, averaging 11 points off the bench on 46% shooting from three.
The veteran sharpshooter could slot in nicely at Braun’s position in the starting lineup. However, figuring out backcourt defensive assignments could get difficult with that arrangement. The Nuggets would be playing without a point-of-attack lead defensive guard. If that is coach David Adelman’s top priority, then Peyton Watson or Bruce Brown could also be viable options to start.
Julian Strawther also could be in line to play more frequently with the second unit now. His minutes have fluctuated early this season.
“We have to figure out a way to make our rotation make sense, if (Braun and Johnson) are out of our rotation right now,” Adelman said Wednesday.
The lineup could look different after Minnesota, where Johnson’s absence also factors into the calculus. Saturday could get weird for the Nuggets (9-2), especially with Nikola Jokic listed on their injury report as questionable with a sprained left wrist. That’s separate from the recurring right wrist injury that has bothered him off-and-on for six years, most recently at training camp in October. Jokic is coming off a 55-point game in Los Angeles and a 35-point performance the night before.
Braun has been highly durable throughout his career before now. Since his rookie year, he has played in 172 out of 175 regular-season games and all 26 of Denver’s playoff games. He signed a five-year, $125 million rookie extension last month that locks him under contract longer than anyone else on the roster.
Now he’s forecasted to miss at least 17 games before the Nuggets reevaluate his status. The injury timeline provided by the team goes through Christmas, when Denver hosts the Timberwolves.
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