{"id":370499,"date":"2025-11-11T01:54:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T01:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/370499\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T01:54:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T01:54:13","slug":"bruce-brown-still-adjusting-to-return-with-denver-nuggets-i-was-tired-as-expletive-nba-insider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/370499\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruce Brown still adjusting to return with Denver Nuggets: ‘I was tired as (expletive)’ | NBA Insider"},"content":{"rendered":"

Denver Gazette beat writer Vinny Benedetto takes you around the NBA and inside the Nuggets locker room:<\/p>\n

NBA Insider<\/strong><\/p>\n

The outfits, outlook and energy remain the same, but Bruce Brown\u2019s still acclimating in his return to Denver.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamn, I was tired as (crap). I should\u2019ve never yelled. I took all my energy out, and I couldn\u2019t get back on defense,\u201d Bruce Brown recalled of a third-quarter sequence after Monday\u2019s practice at Ball Arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trying to insert myself somehow, energy wise. That was just a way I could score the ball, just being aggressive on the defensive end.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Denver up 11 points in the final minute of the third quarter, Brown poked the ball free and leaked out on a fast break as Tim Hardaway Jr. gained control. Hardaway passed the ball ahead to Brown, who missed a contested layup. In typical fashion, that wasn\u2019t the end of Brown\u2019s involvement. After Spencer Jones helped keep the play alive, Brown wrestled the ball away from Isaiah Jackson and made the most of his second opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been great, especially defensively. He was on the edit a lot this morning before we practiced. Just his intensity, his energy, the way he got into people,\u201d Nuggets coach David Adelman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Bruce, it\u2019s just getting used to that second unit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The exertion cost him on the next possession when Julian Strawther tried to free Brown with a screen. Strawther went onto miss a pull-up jumper with Brown standing around midcourt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told him no,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI said \u2018Bro, you go. I\u2019m not moving. I\u2019m dead.\u2019 I was exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown has no regrets about the yell or the return to town, even though things are a bit different. The 29-year-old played a career-high 28.5 minutes for the Nuggets in 2022-23. So far this season, Brown\u2019s playing 20.6 minutes and is spending less time on the ball. The 6.3 points per game Brown is averaging in his first nine games back in Denver would be his lowest since his rookie year in 2018-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still getting adjusted to it. Obviously, when you come back to a situation you were in before, you think it\u2019s going to be exactly the same, but it\u2019s not,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only thing I care about is winning. We\u2019re trying to put another banner up. I\u2019m still getting adjusted to it. Sometimes you might see me come out of the game a little frustrated just because I\u2019m still getting used to it, but at the end of the day, all we care about is winning.\u201d<\/p>\n

What I\u2019m Thinking<\/strong><\/p>\n

The next three games are going to tell the Nuggets a lot about where they are at this early juncture.<\/p>\n

After alternating home and road games in the first five contests, Denver\u2019s schedule has shaped up favorably through nine games. Denver beat Minnesota without Anthony Edwards, a Miami team that was without Bam Adebayo for most of the game, a Warriors squad sans Stephen Curry and a severely banged-up Pacers squad.<\/p>\n

The trip starts with a trip to Sacramento on Tuesday and another road game at the Clippers on Wednesday. Then, it\u2019s off to Minnesota to face a Timberwolves team that recently got Edwards back on the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cSacramento is an unbelievable basketball town. Whether they\u2019re playing well or not, the juice is high there. The Clippers are the Clippers. They need a win,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a tough trip, and we know what Minnesota is on the back end of it. It\u2019s tough. The West is what it is. It\u2019s crazy teams like L.A. are under .500 when you look at what they have and what they can do nightly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/p>\n

Adelman\u2019s squad has mostly taken advantage of the opportunity. A 7-2 start is good for the second-best record in the Western Conference, behind Oklahoma City\u2019s 10-1 start. The Nuggets could be off to an even better start, but late collapses at Golden State in the season opener and at Portland, the Nuggets\u2019 most recent road game, leave the Nuggets 1-2 on the road heading into their first multi-game road trip of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery game we\u2019ve played, we\u2019ve had double-digit leads. I think it\u2019s just been a continuation. You\u2019re not going to win every game in the NBA. It\u2019s just what it is,\u201d Adelman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been really happy with the whole journey so far. It\u2019s only nine games.\u201d<\/p>\n

What They\u2019re Saying<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Nuggets coach talked about the balance between building a staff that features former NBA players and people like him after Monday\u2019s light practice at Ball Arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you need both. You need guys like me that nerd out, and you need guys that actually played and have been through, in basketball terms, the wars and have had success and had failure,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cThey can have communication with players that I can\u2019t have. It\u2019s really important to me that there\u2019s a balance in the staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jonas Valanciunas chimed in with an early impression of his first-year head coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has experience,\u201d Valanciunas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasketball runs in his genes, so he knows his stuff. He\u2019s a smart coach. Yeah, he\u2019s a rookie, but we don\u2019t feel like he\u2019s a rookie. It\u2019s good to have that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Valanciunas also dropped an early contender for quote of the year when he was asked about maximizing whatever minute come his way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what winning teams do. They die on the court, and the next day, they recover and go do it again,\u201d Valanciunas said. \u201cIt\u2019s no excuses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Denver Nuggets center Jonas Valan\u010di\u016bnas (17) holds the ball as Nuggets guard Bruce Brown (11) and Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody jockey for position in the second half of an NBA Cup basketball game Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/p>\n

What I\u2019m Following<\/strong><\/p>\n