In the game against Golden State Warriors, the Nuggets suffered a big-loss after Stephen Curry scored 53 points and surpassed Wilt Chamberlain as the Warriors’ all-time leading scorer. They didn’t just lose the game, they also lost one of their stars.
Murray has always been an important piece of the Denver Nuggets. This season he’s averaging 21.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 4.8 APG in 47.7% FG and 40.8% FG. He’s a deadly scorer who doesn’t shy away from the big moments, and in fact embraces them.
With Murray out of the picture indefinitely due to an ACL tear, Campazzo will have to take the keys from him but the big question is: can he hold it down for the team?
The 30-year-old rookie has been pretty good this season.
Although, he’s only averaging 5.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG and 2.8 APG in 18.7 MPG off the bench this season, Campazzo has shown that he can be a very productive player if given enough minutes in the floor.
Although, the 2021 Rising Stars game didn’t happen this year, Campazzo did enough to be selected in the roster for the Team World.
Aside from his flashy passes, his toughness is also a big-time asset of his since he’s a very experienced rookie that came into the NBA this year.
Campazzo have played 48 games this season and in all those games, he has shown his capability to run and offense and be a floor general of the team.
He has started for four games already this season and in those four games, he averaged 11.0 PPG, 4.5 APG, 3.0 RPG in 32.7 MPG.
In his first start, he finished with 15 points, eight assists, three rebounds, two steals in 38 minutes.
Nikola Jokić gave props to Campazzo after his first start.
“I think he did very good. He was pushing the pace. We were kind of faster I think which is kind of good for us. He was very active on defense,”
He has certainly earned the respect of his team that’s why him getting more minutes will be an interesting sight.
The Denver Nuggets have been one of the top teams in the league this season and it improved its chances to win the title after the trade deadline.
The Nuggets went on an eight-game winning streak recently before it got snapped by the Celtics.
Now, the Denver Nuggets are fourth in the Western Conference with a 34-20 record and their success is mainly because of Murray and Jokić, who’s averaging 26.2 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 8.8 APG in 54.6% FG.
Now that the Nuggets are missing their second star, their title aspirations are in deep trouble. Having Aaron Gordon will certainly help with the missing scoring from Murray, but it’s going to be difficult to replace such an important player. Campazzo’s got some big shoes to fill.
What do you think about Facundo Campazzo? Do you think he can hold it down for the Nuggets without Murray in the line-up? Sound off in the comment section below!
