Christian Braun
Braun is a starting two-guard next to Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, and the reporting I found gives no sign of that changing.
Role
He started the second game of the season, Saturday's home opener against New Orleans, alongside Murray, Bryce Hopkins, Aaron Gordon and Jokic (Yahoo and SI, about a day old). Hopkins was filling in for the injured Cameron Johnson. A Fox Sports/NBA.com blurb says Braun looks locked in as the starter after Peyton Watson was traded to Cleveland. I found no published minutes or usage figures for this season, and no reporting on back-to-back rest plans. The competition for his spot is DeMar DeRozan, whom a Yahoo preview said could start over him or Johnson. A separate game preview (rollingout, dated 24 October) projected DeRozan to start at forward with Braun at guard.
He is a physical perimeter defender who is productive off the ball. Yahoo's opening-night rotation piece argued that this makes him the better fit than DeRozan to start beside Jokic and Murray, with DeRozan best used as a spark off the bench. Fox Sports notes also describe a well-rounded stat line of rebounds, steals and defensive events, plus a substantial starting workload with Watson gone.
Fox Sports notes say his shooting has been inconsistent, particularly from three, and that his efficiency needs to improve. Michael Porter Jr. said last August that the Nuggets' roster problems began when Braun was moved into the starting two spot, and that he suits a bench role better. DeRozan's arrival also puts pressure on the starting lineup. Braun has been listed as having missed time with a significant left ankle sprain at some point (CBS/RotoWire, undated), so I can't say how current that is.
Where analysts split
The question is whether Braun keeps the starting spot once the roster is healthy and DeRozan is fully integrated, or whether DeRozan starts and Braun moves to the bench. Yahoo's preview favored Braun starting on fit, and the Pelicans game preview projected DeRozan starting alongside him at forward. The actual opener lineup had neither Johnson nor DeRozan beside Braun, so it doesn't settle the question.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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