Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray deservedly got most of the headlines for the Denver Nuggets’ Game 3 win in the NBA Finals, but we shouldn’t forget about rookie sparkplug Christian Braun. In 19 minutes of play, Braun recorded 15 points, four rebounds, an assist, and solid defense in an energetic performance Denver needed off the bench.
He also had this emphatic steal-and-dunk in transition.
Braun’s confident play in such a big spot drew a lot of praise from Nuggets’ leadership after they won 109-94. The most notable might have been head coach Mike Malone starting to give Braun credit … before interrupting his praise to blast the Miami press room.
Uh, okay?
After Game 3 in Miami, Nuggets HC Michael Malone pauses his praise of Christian Braun to drop in a "What a bad press room, by the way." 🏀🎙️ #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/dNJRwkBmss
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 8, 2023
Even if Malone’s press room thought was valid (I can’t confirm one way or the other; was the aesthetic of the room poor or what?), I’m not sure why he felt it was necessary to criticize at that moment. And I love how he presents it as a sidebar. “Oh, by the way …”
Let your player have the shine and keep your discomforts to yourself!
Oh well. It’s not as if Malone isn’t pushing the right buttons for a squad two wins away from its first NBA title. Whatever works, I suppose!