Christian Braun is my favorite player in the NBA (I'm a KU lifer), but this was definitively the low-water mark of his NBA career. He was a complete and total no-show in these playoffs, and literally looked scared last night. It was bad-bad. Total bummer.
So what the hell happened, and is the front office stupid for the contract?
Last season he finished with a 15.4 ppg on a 58/39.7/82.7 split as a + defender, followed by 12.6 ppg on a 45/30/73.7 split in the playoffs. He was worse in the playoffs, but rock solid in the regular season. The front office gambled on future performance via the extension, and the early assessment isn't great. He was out for 38 games, and his postseason was particularly bad - 8.3 on 41.7/42.9/73.7.... in 31 mpg.
Jamal had a rough series - 23.7 on 35.7/26.2/97.5
Jokic struggled as well - 25.8 on 44.6/19.4(!!!)/93.
At least the free throw shooting was great? Ugh...
CB's postseason woes are established. That said, he was a contributing factor in the larger story. I think our season was doomed by injuries. CB could've played out of his mind, and there was no getting past SAS/OKC without AG and PWat. This is a wildly different team without Aaron Gordon.
Rough man, rough. The team needed CB and he flat out did not deliver. I think he'd be a better 7th/8th man on a good rotation than a starter, but here's hoping he recovers physically and mentally, locks himself in the gym, and comes back stronger next year. He's staring uphill, but I think he can do it.