ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The Nuggets lost to the Celtics 107-103 on Friday night in the first of two preseason games being held in Abu Dhabi this weekend. Here are three observations from the game and its atypical environment.
How Braun fared with Denver’s starting lineup
Michael Malone stressed before opening tip that he wants his fifth-starter candidates to get comfortable playing next to the other four, again mentioning both Christian Braun and Julian Strawther. When asked if he planned to split those minutes between the two in the first Abu Dhabi game, Malone said, “We’ll see. What I keep reminding myself of is we have five preseason games. … Both guys will continue to get opportunities with that group.”
If that’s the case, don’t overreact to Braun pretty much treated like a starter in Malone’s rotations Friday. Braun sat the entire second half along with Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon, while Strawther played deep into the game. It was a bit of a test drive for Braun, the widely presumed fifth starter. He guarded Jayson Tatum from the outset and displayed a few strong possessions against him, earning a steal and a block before his time was up. He was active on the glass early, grabbing a team-leading five rebounds in 13 minutes.
The Nuggets tried to take advantage of him as a transition weapon. He got to the line trailing the play with Murray bringing it up on one fast break. Jokic targeted him with a Hail Mary pass that was intercepted at one point. Michael Porter Jr. scored an easy layup on the break thanks to Braun running alongside him.
Braun’s fit in the halfcourt offense will be especially interesting to watch, but he made a smart extra pass to Murray for a corner 3-pointer on one possession, deferring from a semi-open wing look for himself.
Bench passers
The Nuggets’ bench still might not be objectively good this season, but it seemingly can take on more than one identity with the additions of Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric. Both made a handful of excellent passes Friday, with Westbrook creating drive-and-kick offense and Saric using his court vision out of the post.
Westbrook almost threw the ball away a few times, but he made it through the night with a strong ratio of eight assists to two turnovers. His finishing through traffic struggled at the rim, but in a pleasant surprise, he made 3 of 6 attempts from beyond the arc while the Celtics dared him to shoot.
Saric played the five with Vlatko Cancar and the four with DeAndre Jordan, an early demonstration of how much Denver might try putting him at a variety of positions. Westbrook played largely in shooter-heavy lineups, with Hunter Tyson in particular getting a lot of run during the first half. (Peyton Watson was out with a hamstring injury.)
Scenes from Abu Dhabi: A rare Nikola Jokic autograph
When he warms up before games in Denver and elsewhere, Jokic practically never stops on his way off the court for photographs or autographs. He made an exception Friday in Abu Dhabi, signing a Serbian boy’s national team jersey with Jokic’s name and number on the back.
It might’ve been a result of lucky circumstances. There wasn’t a horde of fans waiting in the corner next to the tunnel yet, so accepting one fan’s autograph request didn’t have to involve rejecting dozens of others. International fans in the area quickly got wise after Jokic left the court, though: By the time Jayson Tatum was jogging off a few minutes later, a crowd had formed near the exact spot where Jokic had made someone’s day.
“He plays basketball, so this means the world,” the boy’s father told The Denver Post. They plan to frame the jersey.
Jokic took over for a stretch of the second quarter, finishing his night with 14 points, eight assists, two rebounds and two steals. He shot 5 for 7 from the field.
The atmosphere itself was unusually normal, probably in part because it wasn’t a local entertainment staff running the show during timeouts. The Nuggets and Celtics each brought their entertainment staff to Abu Dhabi, with the “home” team taking the lead each game. That was Denver on Friday night, making for almost a simulation of the Ball Arena experience: same public address announcer, same DJ, even the same Skyline Drumline.
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