Bruce Brown wasn’t part of that stirring second-round playoff series last year — the one that left Oklahoma City breathing a collective sigh of relief and Denver wondering “what if” about a million different little moments.
But he was a former Nugget and a future Nugget. The manner in which their season ended without him nonetheless applied to him.
Especially now that he’s trying to set a precedent similar to the Thunder’s.
“Later in the season,” Brown said Monday, “(referees will) let things go just because they know you’re a physical defender. Lu Dort has a reputation as being a physical defender, so they don’t really call much on him. So (I’m) just trying to do that.”
Dort is just one example of the overarching philosophy Brown is talking about, but it’s telling that an Oklahoma City player was the avatar he used to represent the topic. Built more like a linebacker than a shooting guard, Dort’s overwhelming tenacity on the perimeter made him a defensive player of the year candidate last season.
And even when the Nuggets managed to reduce his individual impact at certain points throughout a seven-game series, the Thunder had other wing defenders ready to assume his style. One of the lasting memories of Game 7 will be 6-foot-5 Alex Caruso’s fierce marking of Nikola Jokic, which went unpunished by the refs, much to Denver’s chagrin.
The Thunder earned that benefit of the doubt over the course of the season, though, according to Brown’s school of thought. One key reason the Nuggets pursued a reunion with Brown was to address their shortage of perimeter players who can size up with anyone like Dort and Caruso.
For Brown, the work begins now toward establishing how he’s going to guard during the playoffs.
“I think you earn the respect of the officials, that you’re gonna play hard, get into people,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “I don’t know if they let you play more, but they’re used to you playing that way. … I think it’s just like players (know each other’s tendencies), and you watch other teams — same with officials. What you put on tape is what people are used to. It’s human instinct to be that way.”
Brown’s role offensively has been peripheral so far this season, but he’s been reliable for 19.2 minutes per game thanks to his hustle. Through six games, he was third on the team in defensive field goal percentage (46.9%) behind Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson, according to the NBA’s data. And he was first among the team’s non-centers in rebounds per 100 possessions with 10.8. Often, he tries to turn his defensive boards into quick transition possessions for the bench.
“For me personally, that just gets me going, trying to get easy ones at the rim, or find (shooters) with the second unit,” he said. “… It’s just easy offense for us in the second unit.”
Brown played his best all-around game of the season Monday against Sacramento, registering 10 points and six rebounds while handling the ball more than he had in the first five contests. More importantly, he contributed back-to-back critical defensive possessions early in the fourth quarter when Denver was nursing an eight-point lead, getting up into the space of Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan to force contested midrange shots — the platonic ideal of which shot selection to give up in the modern NBA.
Entering Wednesday’s clash with Miami, the Nuggets possessed the fourth-best defense in the league. Their defensive rating when Brown shares the floor with Jokic: a stellar 102.9 points per 100 possessions, 6.5 points better than when Jokic has played without Brown.
Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, Oklahoma City is as good as ever, undefeated after eight games and borderline flawless at the defensive end. The Nuggets won’t get a rematch opportunity until February. Until then, Brown will be trying to establish his reputation.
“I thought we were gonna be able to be more physical, but I don’t know,” he said. “They’re calling like some ticky-tack fouls. But they’re trying to do their best. It’s early in the season, so I’m sure we’ll both adjust.”
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