Its explosion a couple of nights ago had the logical shock wave. In the NBA, nobody gives away anything. The minutes must be earned. Facundo Campazzo stirred too many sensations in that game against Minnesota, and he immediately began to capitalize on his initial investment of effort and a lot of patience. And in the revenge with the Wolves, this time at the Ball Arena in Denver, he again had a lot of participation in the victory of the Nuggets (123-116).
His inclusion in the rotation was more respected. The numbers (maybe not so important): 11 points (3/4 doubles, 0/3 triples and 5/7 free), 1 rebound, 2 assists and a steal in 25 minutes. The intangibles that do not appear in the statistical sheets (the most valuable thing): the coach knows that he can trust the Argentine, and he feels more confident.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM1tdiT1590
The Cordovan entered, as usually happens, in the last minutes of the opening quarter, but this time his stay in the field lasted longer than normal. The big news was that for the first time Mike Malone gave him the possibility to play in his original position, the base during that time. It is worth remembering that in the match in which he achieved his record of points, he played mostly as a guard, occupying places in the corners, from where he scored several of his triples.
Campazzo is a player who needs to have the ball in his hands on offense to generate moments of imbalance and intensity. It’s funny that he was playing otherwise, like a shooter, that he had won the minutes. But the important thing is that thanks to that, over time, you can move to the place you like the most.
That possibility in driving coincided with the very good performance in the first half, when Jamal Murray moved to the marksman position. Campazzo smartly recognized a defensive change that paired him with pivot Nez Reid to beat him in speed and score his first two points on a layup. He then played a couple of pick and roll actions with JaMychal Green and scored an acrobatic counter shot, enduring a foul by Spaniard Ricky Rubio.
The game was on track for Denver, who had an 18-point lead and, by the time the Argentine went to rest (5m35s from the end of the second quarter), he was up 51-38 on the scoreboard. But the Nuggets relaxed, Nikola Jokic got into a never-ending fight with the umpires, he was called a couple of offensive fouls and a technique. Denver lost control and went into a downward spiral of discouragement. So much so that the DT decided to send Campazzo back to the court in the absence of a minute and a half to rest. The Argentine responded with a pair of free hits, but missed the last shot (the first half closed 65-62 for Minnesota).
In the second half he coincided on the perimeter with Monte Morris and had to return to the less leading role. Although he missed some open shots, his integration with the team is already more natural and It is noticeable that the relationship with his colleagues begins to have another fluidity. With his energetic stance on defense, he again left positive actions. With a good mark on D’Angelo Russell, fIt was one of the props for Minnesota to convert just two points in the first eight minutes of the final quarter. In attack, he served a two-and-one action (touchdown plus foul by Ricky Rubio) at an important moment.
The great figure of the Nuggets, as has happened so far in all the games was Nikola Jokic. His game is majestic and his statistics confirm it: 35 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists. For the Argentine gaze, so focused on “our player”, that for now goes almost unnoticed. Over time, when the integration of the Cordovan in the team is much more than a novelty, it will also be possible to analyze more of the Denver game. That started badly and has a lot to adjust, but at least he has already begun to rehearse his recovery with Campazzo as the protagonist.
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