12/13/2020 6:30 AM
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 12/13/2020 3:10 PM
Facundo Campazzo debuted in the NBA preseason with the Denver Nuggets jersey number 7 against Golden State and, after a discreet first half and without major appearances, he played a great second half, generated the feeling that he will not even need to adapt and garnered praise everywhere, both from own and from strangers.
Although the Argentine's roster did not show anything extraordinary, when completing statistics that scored 8 points, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 rebound in 24 minutes, they were the defensive intensity, the electricity in attack, the panorama on the parquet and the audacity to cheer on someone else's rodeo which allowed him to be filled with praise.
In the narrow defeat, he closed the game in great shape, taking over the leadership of the team despite the fact that there were already a majority of substitutes on the field at that time, and conveyed the unequivocal feeling that he was not in a situation that was alien to him. : Campazzo played like he had been in the league for a long time.
Facundo Campazzo launches a "floater".
The Argentine's resources fell in love with his debut with Denver in the NBA.
Of course it was a minimal sample, in a preseason game, with all the lack of obligations that this implies, but it was still above expectations.
And so his teammates and his coach noticed.
"Playing hard is a skill and it is something that Facu does very well," said Michael Malone, highlighting the Argentine's ability to become a bulldog.
This intensity led journalists who usually follow the Nuggets campaign to ask if it is possible to maintain such a rhythm during the 72 games that the regular phase will last (10 less than usual due to the late start due to the COVID-19 pandemic that delayed the end of the last campaign).
"He is going to leave everything on the court. (If he can do it with that regularity) we will find out, but that's what he does. If you saw him play for the National Team (Argentina) or Real Madrid, you know that's how he is. And he is clear that he will not play an excessive amount of minutes, so he will leave everything ".
The two figures and leaders of the team, point guard Jamal Murray and center Nikola Jokic, also gave him praise in different ways.
The Serbian big man did it in the attention to the press assuring that he regretted that there were no public in the stadiums "because he would quickly become a favorite of the people."
The European added: "I know him and he is a winner."
https://t.co/8IeyzBilSA pic.twitter.com/d7ul5RPRZu
- TeamFacu (@ TeamFacu7) December 13, 2020
Murray, for his part, chose another way to express his support for the Argentine: social networks.
At dawn in South America, the perimeter, who was received as a star in the last playoffs, wrote on his Twitter account a very particular message that undoubtedly was a pampering both for his tireless defense and for his voracious attack: "
The new nickname of
Facu
It's Spiderman
. He's EVERYWHERE! "
For his part, one of the young people on the team, PJ Dozier, said: "I was watching videos of him before he arrived. He transferred him very well here. It is very fun to see him, and very fun to play with him."
On Denver television, analysts were captivated by the Argentine.
It was enough that the Cordovan began to show all his weapons so that they even offered a plaque with his achievements and a compact of his plays at Real Madrid.
And eventually they christened him "The Magician" ("The Magician").
The debut of Facundo Campazzo in the NBA
The best actions of the Argentine from Denver
DNVR Nuggets, the
basketball
space
of the DNVR Sports portal dedicated to following all the sports teams in the city, put the point guard as the main protagonist of the program via streaming one hour after the match: "Facundo Campazzo impresses in his debut with the Nuggets, "they headlined the broadcast.
One of his journalists, Brendan Vogt, acknowledged: "I was not ready for Denver to add a
little king
like this."
His teammate Adam Mares chose an exaggeration in the form of a list to show his amazement with the Argentine: "The greatest effort and heart I have ever seen on a basketball court: Michael Jordan's' flu game ', Willis' Game 7 Reed and this first Campazzo preseason game. "
Harrison Wind, for his part, said "Campazzo will make this regular season for the Nuggets spectacular to watch."
Even journalists who are dedicated to following the Golden State campaign were surprised by what the Cordovan showed.
Danny Leroux, a journalist for the prestigious The Athletic, wrote: "May we all live life with the passion with which Campazzo plays a preseason game."
The word of the man of the moment
Of course, the reflections of Facundo himself, who also attended the media via Zoom, could not be absent.
And he acknowledged: "It was spectacular. It's a dream come true. I waited for this my entire career, I enjoyed it but we have to keep working and training for the next game."
Campazzo receives directions from Michael Malone, coach of the Denver Nuggets.
Photo EFE
The media of the mile-high city asked him about that frenetic pace, to which he calmly replied: "I'm fine, just excited. It's my game, I always give 100%, my heart. It's important for the team This first game was a good test, I want to compete and do my best in each game. "
Regarding the coexistence with Monte Morris, the substitute point guard who recently renewed with the team and who could "eat" his minutes, Campazzo said: "The driving will depend on who catches the ball. We had a lot of communication for those situations. The coach wants that. chemistry between us and we will try to take advantage of it. "
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