The Rise of Facundo Campazzo and Real Madrid’s Dominance

The missing piece was Facundo Campazzo. The 32-year-old Argentine point guard returned to Real Madrid last summer after trying his fortune in the NBA and a short stint at Red Star and has fit like a glove in a team that today is a machine. Chus Mateo’s team has won the 12 official matches it has played (six in the ACB, four in the Euroleague and two to lift the Super Cup), plus the duel against the Dallas Mavericks by 127-123, it is the top scorer in the Spanish competition and in the European, and today (8:45 p.m., Movistar) they host Barça in the continental tournament after having beaten them twice in just over a month: in a semifinal of the Super Cup (80-90) and in the League (86 -79). They are the only two Barça defeats of the season.

This Madrid of Campazzo is a cyclone. “Unstoppable,” concluded Ettore Messina, coach of Olimpia Milano, after being shaken in the WiZink; “For rivals it is a problem because you have to fight against that conviction. Before playing basketball, you have to win the game mentally.” The white team’s points are falling out of their pockets. Of 12 games, in seven they have reached or exceeded 90, and in three they have exceeded 100 (the limit is 106 against Murcia). It is the leading team in scoring (and the only undefeated team) in the ACB (93.6 points on average, ahead of Unicaja’s 90.1) and in the Euroleague (90.75 compared to Barça’s 89.5); leads the assists section in the domestic tournament with 20.7 per game, a record never before achieved by any team at the end of a season; He is the best in percentage of success in shots from two (62.1%) and in dunks (5.5)…

“Things are going well, we are being the team we want to be, defending with intensity, sharing the ball, being supportive in attack to find the best shot and in defense to show pride to make up for any lack. I like that. “We have to maintain it over time,” Chus Mateo stressed this Wednesday.

The locomotive is driven by Campazzo. The point guard was the only white signing after the losses of Goss, Hanga, Randolph and Cornelie. But it’s worth four. The Argentine has buried the doubts of the previous campaign in the direction of the game and with his intelligence, speed and passing ability the rest of the pieces have flourished. Sergio Rodríguez completes the supply of baskets, Tavares remains at the top (20 of 22 in two-point shots in the ACB), Poirier exhibits his best version (10 points and 5.3 rebounds on average), Musa was chosen the best of the League in September, and the triplet of veterans (Chacho, Rudy and Llull) combines with the newcomers (Hugo González, Diagne and Ndiaye).

Ettore Messina, coach of Olimpia Milan:

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— Relief (@relevo) October 19, 2023

“Facundo helps us a lot to understand the style we want to have and above all to assign roles much better and sooner than last year. Now it’s easier because Facu only plays as a point guard. And he is a perfect point guard for us,” analyzes Chus Mateo, a centenary on the white bench (76 victories and three titles). Although this frenetic pace also has an asterisk: Madrid is the sixth team in the ACB that loses the most balls (14.3 per game), a loss that Barça can squeeze out.

Campazzo was the MVP of the Super Cup. In the ACB he collects 6.7 assists per game, only behind the 7.5 of Dani Pérez, from Manresa. In the last six games between the League and Europe he has signed 50 basket passes, 10 to Olimpia Milano. Thus Messina surrendered.

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2023-10-26 06:17:52
#Campazzo #puts #Madrid #Baloncesto #Sports