guard hasn’t played in February, missing seven games before the All-Star break due to a hamstring injury. As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes, that forced into the starting lineup, where he immediately played some of the best basketball of his career.

In Westbrook’s absence, Braun averaged 19.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals while shooting 59% from the field. However, with , ,  and all being starter-worthy, it made for a difficult decision with the starting lineup.

In his 48 games this season, Westbrook has been a starter 27 times, averaging 13.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.4 assists. When Gordon missed time with injury earlier this season, Westbrook and Braun started together. However, that is seemingly not going to be the case, as Braun started alongside Jokic, Murray, Porter and Gordon for Thursday’s game.

“All I’ll say is that it’s great to have options,” coach Michael Malone said. “We have a healthy team, and obviously, Russell Westbrook’s done great things for us. Christian Braun, this last eight-game stretch, is playing just incredible basketball. And so people say, ‘Oh, that’s a tough decision.’ I look at it the opposite way. I’m really fortunate to have a tough decision to make where you have quality players that have really impacted winning. And that’s what it comes down to. It’s never about one player. It’s about what’s best for our team.”

In a separate piece, The Denver Post’s Sean Keeler writes that Braun starting is the correct decision, pointing to his impressive net rating in trios alongside Jokic and Murray.

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