DENVER – Michael Malone sat in the bowels of Little Caesars Arena in February of 2020, about a month before the COVID-19 pandemic would tighten its grip around the world. impose oneself. shook his head. He made a mental note to himself one day about wanting to have Bruce Brown on his basketball team.
It’s not often that the Denver Nuggets lose a game in which Nikola Jokic scores a 39-point triple-double, but on this dismal night in Detroit, that’s exactly what happened to the Nuggets as they lost 128-123 in overtime. It was a game that Denver should have won but the Nuggets didn’t because of Bruce Brown. He came off the bench that night and scored 19 points.
This doesn’t even begin to describe its impact. He grabbed 10 rebounds and had eight assists. He played 38 minutes.
As a league, the NBA world is certainly round. Brown made an indelible mark on Malone that night. He was tough and resilient. He made big plays when the Pistons needed them. He made the important plays along the stretch. Malone remembered him for being one of the most competitive players his team faced that season. Somehow, Malone wanted to be the guy to coach him.
“I remember thinking, ‘We’ve been beaten by Bruce Brown,'” Malone said. “He played a great game that night.”
Three years later, as the Nuggets approach Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Browns are playing a key role in Denver. He came off the bench in Game 1 on Tuesday night and scored 16 points in 24 minutes. He reached the basket from dribbling almost as often as he wanted to. He’s played every position in the Nuggets’ perimeter this season, on both sides of the floor. Denver is where he’s at because Jokic and Jamal Murray are at the top of their respective careers. But, the Nuggets cap has been raised to championship level due to its depth. And Brown was a big part of that depth.
“We were surprised he was available on the second day of free agency,” said Malone. “We didn’t hesitate to try and bring him in. He was a perfect fit for us.”
What the Browns did with the Nuggets, along with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, was clear and precise.
The obvious: Brown and Pope Caldwell are the defensive wingers Denver has been looking for since 2020. They’re tough defenders on the ball. They are great defenders for the team in assists and rotations. They’re tough guys who give the Nuggets a nice shot that wasn’t on their roster in previous years.
Agility: Brown has been a tremendous assist on offense, due to his ability to handle the ball. It was an obvious skill when he was with the Pistons, but it became less obvious in his time with the Brooklyn Nets. In fact, when the Browns played in Brooklyn, it was used much differently. Since he was not a knockout shooter, he was used more as a small ball forward, and even as a center. Offensively, the Browns found themselves in the dunkers spot, playing alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
This role hurt his individual market in free agency over the summer, because he is 6-foot-4. Of his size, and because of the role he played, many league members saw him as a power forward trapped in the body of a guard.
“I knew when I started talking to the Nuggets in free agency that the role was going to be different here,” Brown said. “It was something I looked forward to.”
Once the curtain on free agency was unveiled last summer, the Nets never made Brown an offer, according to league sources who were granted anonymity so they could speak freely. This forced Brown and his camp to look for a job elsewhere. As Malone said, the Nuggets were surprised Brown was available once they considered their options on the second day of free agency. For context, most all-star and rookie-level players available as unrestricted free agents usually have a deal in place. For someone like Brown, who has been a major part of the Brooklyn rotation, to no Closing a deal was a bit surprising.
The Browns camp wanted him to be with a team that would allow him to be a winger, tackle the basketball, play offensively on the perimeter, and take three to four three-pointers per game. For that matter, because 6-4 power forwards usually don’t have long careers in the NBA.
What happened was that it was more successful than anyone realised. The Browns have been extremely good for Denver this season, and in the postseason the Nuggets had six starters. He’s been so good the Nuggets have dominated the non-Jokic minutes in the postseason in large part for being on the ground. Not only did he appear as a winger, but he was Denver’s primary backup at base, playing all three flanking spots on both sides of the field.
Brown’s ability to handle the basketball allowed the Nuggets to play Murray farther off the ball, reducing his responsibility for managing the offense and giving him more freedom to seek out his individual offense. The things the Browns have been doing with the Nuggets this season, handling the ball on a pick-and-roll, pressing the dribble edge, shooting shots from the perimeter, these were all things he wasn’t allowed to do while he was playing. Time in Brooklyn.
He has the potential to land in free agency this summer, which would keep him in Denver vulnerable, since the team doesn’t own his bird rights. And that would limit how much Denver could offer him. But, the Nuggets are seven wins away from the NBA title. They head into Game 2 against the Lakers by a 1-0 lead. They were the best postseason team in the Western Conference.
And a lot of that is because Bruce Brown beat the Denver Nuggets three years ago in Detroit.
Go deeper
How Nikola Jokic’s increased size and efficiency boosted the Nuggets
(Bruce Brown: Isaiah J. Downing/USA Today)