By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
A four-game road trip completed for the Denver Nuggets. They were held to 1-3 in that stretch. However, Facundo Campazzo earned his first start and increased playing time.
Campazzo, 29, left Real Madrid to pursue his NBA dream. He inked a multi-year contract on November 30. He followed up a rocky start to his debut NBA campaign with five consecutive double-digit performances since mid-February and produced an NBA-high 16 points in the loss against the Atlanta Hawks Sunday.
The Argentine point guard averaged 14 points per match in his last five appearances, 13.8 points per contest in the four-game road trip. In the last four games, he got 30 minutes per match by head coach Mike Malone, a massive improvement compared to his 12.3 minutes per game prior to the four straight games on the road.
It is steadily becoming apparent that the Nuggets are expecting him to prioritize shooting over creating. He is still adjusting to his new surroundings and different style of basketball but is also effectively inserting himself in the preferred system. An extremely valuable addition for the Denver organization looking for the next step after making it to the Western Conference finals in the Orlando bubble.
At 16-14, the Nuggets currently rank seventh in the West. They are most likely to move upwards in the bottom end of the 2020-21 season provided Campazzo fully integrated into the rotation around Jamal Murray, Monte Morris, and Gary Harris.
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