Wind Chimes: Inside Facu Campazzo's resurgence

Welcome to Wind Chimes, a notebook of reporting, observations and analysis from me about what I’ve seen, heard and talked to people around the team about over the last week.

Facu Campazzo’s basketball mentality is best summed up by something the Argentine said following the Nuggets’ 124-111 win over the Rockets.

“We’ve got to hide injuries and COVID with playing harder,” Campazzo stated. “Not 100%. 200% harder.”

Campazzo plays every possession like it could be his last. It’s incredibly inspiring. It’s awfully commendable. It’s also why he’s in the NBA and has achieved the level of basketball success that he has across his storied career. Even if it’s the preseason. Even if it’s a Sunday in January against the worst team in the Western Conference. Campazzo gives a level of effort on a continuous night-in-night-out basis that I frankly didn’t think was possible for an NBA player to give.

El Mago was at it again against the Rockets. Campazzo logged a game-high 34 minutes and finished with a career-high 22 points to go with 4 rebounds, 12 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, and more than a few floor burns. In Houston, Campazzo dominated a game like I haven’t seen a Nuggets point guard do since Jamal Murray last season. He was absolutely sensational. Campazzo carved up a porous Rockets defense and set the tone on both ends of the floor for what was again a shorthanded Nuggets rotation.

There was no way Campazzo was going to snatch this loose ball during the second quarter of Saturday night’s win. But he still dove for it. At the very least, it might have inspired his teammates to dig in a little more on the defensive end.

“I wish I could’ve played him 48 minutes,” Nuggets acting head coach Popeye Jones said of Campazzo postgame.

It was a continuation of what Campazzo’s been able to accomplish over the last several weeks. To open the season, Campazzo didn’t have the same level of burst as he did last year. He didn’t have that same Campazzo spunk and spirit. Something was a bit off. In the Nuggets’ 103-89 loss to the 76ers back on Nov. 18, Campazzo played just eight minutes and found himself almost outside of Michael Malone’s circle of trust.

But Campazzo’s been a different player since nearly falling out of Denver’s rotation. As injuries and COVID ripped through the Nuggets’ backcourt over the last month-plus, Campazzo has taken advantage of increased minutes and a larger role. Across his last 19 games, Campazzo is averaging 9.3 points (41 FG%, 38.2 3P%), and 5.3 assists to just 1.3 turnovers in 26.6 minutes per game. During that same stretch, Campazzo has handed out 100 assists to only 25 turnovers. Those are Monte Morris-esque numbers.

Over his last 19 games (or since Campazzo re-entered the rotation on Nov. 19 vs. Chicago), the 5-foot-9 point guard has recorded 12 blocks, which is second on Nuggets behind Jeff Green’s 13. On the season, Campazzo now leads the Nuggets in total deflections (75). He had eight vs. the Rockets. Since that magical Nov. 19 date, Campazzo ranks 7th in the entire NBA in total deflections (56) only trailing All-Defensive team contenders like Jrue Holiday, Tyrese Haliburton, Matisse Thybulle, Dejounte Murray, Herbert Jones … and Kelly Oubre.

Here were his five steals in Houston:

There’s a theory as to why Campazzo has recently found some extra pep. The 30-year-old had a bout with COVID over the summer and sources close to the team say that he wasn’t in great shape to start the season. Now, he has his legs back and is enjoying a bit of newfound creative freedom within the Nuggets’ offense with so many players in and out of the lineup. As of late, Campazzo has been able to get more imaginative with the ball in his hands with less structure and emphasis placed on traditional Nuggets X’s and O’s with how irregular Denver’s lineups and rotation have been.

“He’s just playing with more freedom and off of his instincts,” one source close to the team told DNVR.

Campazzo has his faults. There’s no doubt about that. But he’s contributing to winning basketball right now. He’s been an integral piece to the Nuggets’ current three-game winning streak while Morris has been sidelined in health and safety protocols.

More Chimes

Meet Rayjon Tucker and Carlik Jones

The Nuggets signed two new players to 10-day hardship exceptions last week: Rayjon Tucker and Carlik Jones. I wouldn’t bet on either sticking with Denver long-term, but both can offer something with how depleted the Nuggets’ backcourt currently is.

Tucker’s defense and toughness are intriguing. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 17 points (43.8 FG%, 30.2 3P%), 4.8 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.7 steals for Bucks G League affiliate in 13 games this season and had a three and four-steal game vs. Denver’s G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold. Nuggets brass was certainly tuning into those two games. Tucker, 24, comes with some experience too. He played 20 NBA games for the Jazz two years ago, 14 games for Philadelphia last year, and didn’t look overmatched in the 22 minutes he logged against the Rockets.

Popeye Jones was an assistant coach with the 76ers last year and Philadelphia rostered Tucker for part of the season. That familiarity helped him get on the floor Saturday for real rotation minutes around 24 hours after meeting the Nuggets in Houston. Tucker is also an elite NBA athlete. Just watch him throw down dunk contest-worthy slams in layup lines.

While Tucker is a combo guard, Jones, a 24-year-old 6-1 ball-handler who went undrafted this year out of Louisville, is more of a classic pick-and-roll point guard. Think a right-handed version of Phoenix’s Cam Payne. Jones averaged 20 points (45 FG% 32.4 3P%), 5 rebounds and 4.5 assists for the Mavs G League affiliate in 10 games this season and just got off a 10-day hardship deal with Dallas. Before joining the Nuggets in Houston on Saturday, Jones played five minutes of garbage time for the Mavs on Friday. On Monday night, he’ll be facing that same Mavs team in Dallas but as a member of the Nuggets.

Jones showed he could fill it up in the G League and had a 37-point game earlier this season. In the pre-draft process, Jones also had some fans in the Nuggets’ front office, but I don’t get the sense that either Jones or Tucker will necessarily last in Denver like Davon Reed, who’s currently on his third 10-day contract. I’d be very surprised if Reed doesn’t remain on the Nuggets’ roster throughout the remainder of the season.

Navigating a COVID outbreak

The Nuggets weren’t only without Michael Malone in Houston due to COVID protocols. Denver was also without assistant David Adelman, who’s been the Nuggets’ offensive coordinator for the last several years. Assistant Jordi Fernandez, Denver’s defensive coordinator this season, was also absent from Denver’s bench against the Rockets. Judging from the broadcast, there were other second-row assistant coaches and staffers absent from the Nuggets’ sideline too. It makes Denver’s convincing win over Houston even more impressive.

***Question of the Week***

Last week I asked you if you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

For me, that’s an easy one. It’s right here in Denver, Colorado. Basketball is at the center of my world right now, and in my humble opinion, Nikola Jokic is the best player in the world right now. To watch him play live is a privilege that I’ll never take lightly. It’s something that I’ll never take for granted. I’ll always look back on these years and think, wow, I actually got to cover Nikola Jokic. There’s never been a superstar like him, and there never will be again. How lucky am I?