Denver Gazette beat writer Vinny Benedetto takes you around the NBA and inside the Nuggets locker room:

NBA Insider

After one of the best games of his young career, Christian Braun demanded better.

The third-year wing set a new career-high with 30 points in Sunday’s loss to Indiana by making 12 of 16 shots, including a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range. He added eight rebounds and four assists without a turnover, at least officially. He took responsibility for the last of Nikola Jokic’s four turnovers, which came with Denver down two points in the final 30 seconds.

“He wanted to play DHO (dribble handoff), and he was telling me that. I was too late. Then, I went to step up, I just got in his way. That’s my turnover,” Braun said. “I’ve got to be better in that spot. I was thinking ‘Get out of his way, let him go score two.’ I know he’s an automatic two (points), especially because they hadn’t been doubling him the last couple of plays. I was just thinking get out of his way. I put him in a bad spot. That’s my fault.”

That was far from the only thing Braun took ownership for after Denver’s fourth consecutive loss. He also demanded better of himself on defense despite playing a large part in holding Tyrese Haliburton to nine points on eight shots on a night the Nuggets gave up 125 points.

“We got to get back to who we are on defense. That starts with me,” Braun said. “That starts with my communication. That starts with me setting the tone, my physicality. So, I’ve got to be better. I’ll take the blame for that.”

The 23-year-old, the youngest member of the Nuggets’ regular starting lineup, also put the task of making sure the team is ready to start games on his own plate.

“That’s on me to make sure that we’re ready before we run out, that we’re ready when we step on the court,” Braun said. “Throughout the game, somebody’s got to talk to them, and that’s got to be me.”

The mentality has made a fan out of Nikola Jokic.

“The guy is a winner. Whenever he makes a mistake, I’m never mad at him or whatever. I just get mad at him when I tell him to do something, and he does something different,” Jokic said.

“He’s playing hard. Everybody makes mistakes, but he’s playing really hard. When you play hard, when you make a mistake playing hard, I think you cannot take anything from him.”

So, how often does Braun do something different than Jokic suggests?

“Not much,” Jokic said. “Not much.”

The late turnover might’ve been one example, but Braun has been one of the brightest spots of the Nuggets season. After a career night, Braun is a part of the Most Improved Player debate alongside players like Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, the Lakers’ Austin Reaves and Miami’s Tyler Herro. After averaging 7.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and .5 steals in his second NBA season, Braun is posting 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals heading into the final three games of his third season. That’s still not good enough for Braun.

“The turnover late today was me. I’ve got to be better in these last three games. I know I will be better,” Braun said. “I know that we will be better in these last three games. We’re going to get three in a row, and then we’re going to go in the playoffs with a good rhythm.”

What I’m Thinking

The only chance the Nuggets have of salvaging this season is a healthy Jamal Murray.

If that means holding Murray out of the crucial three-game stretch to close the regular season, it’s what must be done. Denver’s four-game losing streak has shown the Nuggets don’t have a chance against quality competition without their No. 2.

The Nuggets had enough to beat a tanking Jazz team, but lost to Minnesota despite a 61-point triple-double from Nikola Jokic. Losses to the Spurs, Warriors and Pacers followed, dropping the Nuggets into dangerous territory if they want to avoid the play-in portion of the postseason.

The end of Sunday’s loss to the Pacers showed just how much the Nuggets miss Murray. Instead of the relying on Murray and Jokic’s trusted two-man game, the Nuggets had to look elsewhere for late-game production. Three turnovers in the final 2 minutes and 8 seconds

“He’s just a guy who can score. I think you can see it through the league. I think guards are the guys who are handling the ball and making a decision and scoring the ball,” Jokic said. “He’s the one who has always took and made big, tough shots. We definitely miss him.”

Prior to the game, Nuggets coach Michael Malone didn’t sound certain Murray would return before the end of the regular season. What started as a day-to-day injury with hamstring tightness has turned out to be a more serious injury.

Missing Murray over the final three games of the season might mean Denver loses out on home-court advantage in the first round, or worse, has to win a play-in game to make the postseason, but teams have survived the play-in before and made the NBA Finals. The Nuggets won the championship the last time Murray was healthy in the postseason. If they have any hopes of winning another this year, Murray’s health has to be the top priority.

“Obviously, Jamal Murray is such an important part to this team,” Malone said. “We still have enough to win when Jamal is out. I also like our chances a hell of a lot better when Jamal is healthy.”

What They’re Saying

The Nuggets coach challenged his team to do some critical self-reflection after the team’s first four-game losing streak of the season. For what it’s worth, the last time the Nuggets lost four in a row was late in the 2023 regular-season when Denver went on to win the championship.

“We haven’t lost four in a row in a long time. It’s really easy to be together and say ‘family’ when you win, but when you’re losing games, can you stay together? Do you have the balls, do you have the courage to go home and look in the mirror and say ‘What can I be doing better to help this team?’” Malone said.

“We put ourselves in this hole, and we only have ourselves to pull ourselves out of it. I look forward to seeing how we respond.”

Russell Westbrook held a rare postgame media availability in the locker room after Sunday’s loss. He was asked how confident he is the Nuggets can find something in the final three games that gives them confidence heading into the postseason.

“I hope it’s high,” Westbrook said.

“I can’t speak for everybody in the locker room, but my head stays high.”

What I’m Following

– Nuggets guard Trey Alexander was awarded G League Rookie of the Year last week. The combo guard, who went undrafted after three years at Creighton, averaged 25.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.7 steals in 30 games with the Grand Rapids Gold.

– Portland and general manager Joe Cronin agreed to a multiyear contract extension, according to an ESPN report. The Trail Blazers are going to miss the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year but have already won 14 more games than they did last season.

The List

How the Western Conference standings look at the end of the week is anyone’s guess, but here are the six teams with the best odds to represent the conference in the NBA Finals, per BetMGM:

1. Thunder, -145

2. Warriors, +600

3. Lakers, +700

4. Nuggets, +875

5. Clippers/Timberwolves, +1800