06/14/2021 3:16 AM
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 06/14/2021 3:16 AM
The Argentine base of the Denver Nuggets, Facundo Campazzo, declared on Sunday night, after his team was eliminated from the playoffs by the Phoenix Suns, that the main challenge of his first season in the NBA has been
"trying to compete"
with players like Damian Lillard or Chris Paul, from whom he said he has learned a lot.
The Suns defeated the Nuggets 125-118 to sweep Denver
4-0 in the Western Conference semifinal series
.
Campazzo, who made it to the best league in the world this season from Real Madrid, was one of the team's boosters.
He scored 14 points (4 of 7 in triples), and provided 2 assists
, although he did not start the game as a starter.
The Nuggets lost nearly all their chances of clinching victory when the team's star and this season's MVP, Serbian center Nikola Jokic, was
sent off
with 3.52 minutes to go in the third quarter after attempting to steal the ball from Cameron Payne.
Regarding this situation, Campazzo told the media after the game: "We tried to change our mentality.
We tried to be brave
, aggressive. We tried to play with energy and not let them play comfortably. We did a good job in the end, but it was hard".
But the Cordovan recognized that the Nuggets were not eliminated by the expulsion of Jokic, but by the great performance of some Suns captained by
an impressive Chris Paul
, who converted 37 points.
"It is unfair to say that the last game is the one that condemned us.
Throughout the series it was difficult for us to
stop their tactical offense. They had an answer for everything. We were always behind them. I think as the series progressed and we tried to give it a shot. turn of the screw, it was always difficult, "said Campazzo.
Regarding Paul, Campazzo said that
"he has played at a very high level
.
"
"We were always behind him. We tried to change things, but he always had an answer to everything we tried. I think I
've learned a lot from him
during these playoffs," he said.
The Argentine guard added that
his main challenge
in his first season in the NBA was "to be aggressive in attack and, in defense, cover very dangerous players like Lillard or CP3 (Paul's nickname)."
"That was my challenge, trying to
compete against that type of player,
" he said.
Finally, Campazzo stressed that "it
has been a long season
, with many games."
"Everything was new for me, so
I tried to learn to the fullest
. It was a tough defeat for me too, but what I think now is to work as much as possible and be ready for the next season," he concluded.
The end of the season does not mark the beginning of a break for Campazzo,
quite the opposite
.
He must join the Argentine team that will prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, which will begin in less than a month.
With information from EFE
DB
Look also
NBA: Phoenix swept Campazzo's Nuggets 4-0 in the Western semifinals
Facundo Campazzo's star teammate, Nikola Jokic, was voted the most valuable player of the NBA season