Christian Braun has a few things to figure out before the longest flight of his life.
The most pressing is where to sit on the team’s flight to Abu Dhabi on Monday.
“Being stuck on a plane for 17 hours with DeAndre Jordan is not always fun, but you’ve got to make the most out of it,” Braun cracked at the jovial veteran’s expense following Friday’s practice.
Once he’s seated a safe distance away from Jordan’s tomfoolery, the third-year wing must figure out how to make the time pass on the transcontinental voyage. Despite the frequent flyer status earned after a few years of college basketball at Kansas and a couple of NBA seasons, Braun guessed that the longest flight he’s endured was to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico this summer. As of Friday afternoon, Braun said he hadn’t given any thought to how much he might try to sleep on the flight or when to nap in hopes of decreasing the effects of jetlag.
“I’ve never done it, so I’m going to try to learn, try to listen to people that have done it,” Braun said. “I can’t say that I’m excited about the flight, but I am excited about being there and getting to play.”
A spot next to Nikola Jokic might help. Jokic flies to and from Serbia each offseason and can give Braun an idea of what to expect in Abu Dhabi. Jokic and the Serbian national team were just there for a couple of exhibition games prior to the Olympics.
“I know what to expect. Hopefully, it’s going to be a good trip. … It can be a good thing. The guys get together, spend time together, get to know each other. I think that can help,” Jokic said.
“It can be a bad thing, too – time difference, travel. We will see.”
To make the most of the available time, Nuggets coach Michael Malone planned for his team to practice Monday in Denver before taking off. He was concerned about the quality of a potential Tuesday practice in Abu Dhabi if the team got was off Monday.
“It’s probably going to be a horse (crap) practice, because you’re dealing with that kind of jetlag. We’ll be smart about. We’ll try to make sure we’re getting guys moving, sweating, getting that flight out of their system accordingly. Then, we’ll figure out how we’re going to approach those two games – how much do we play our guys? How much do we put them out there?” Malone said.
“I want to make sure getting on that plane … that we have four really good practices.”
Malone said the first practice of his 10th season in Denver was a typical one – lots of positive energy with a few stretches of sloppiness due to guys wanting to do too much. He’s hoping to mix in a little more productivity with the sightseeing and cultural immersion activities before the Nuggets open their preseason against the Celtics on Oct. 4.
“It’s going to be a great opportunity for our team to get together and have fun, (but) you definitely have to get some work in, but it’s also a chance for us to be together as a team, go visit an exciting place I’ve never been, get to learn about a new culture,” Malone said. “So, I think we’re all looking forward to taking it all while going there and representing the Nuggets in front of some great NBA fans.”
Denver’s second preseason game against Boston is set for Oct. 6. Then, it’s another long flight home for the final three preseason contests.
“These trips, whether it’s training camp being in San Diego (or) going to Abu Dhabi, always brings guys closer,” Braun said.
“We’ve got a lot of good personalities. I’m really looking forward to getting to know the new guys and then continuing to build what we have.”
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