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Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul, right, looks for a shot at Denver Nuggets guard Facundo Campazzo during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 1, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Turns out you know a lot of people about the NBA for 16 seasons.
Point guard Chris Paul enters the Phoenix Suns Western Conference semifinal series with a bit of history with several individuals in the Denver Nuggets.
It starts with a deep respect for coach Mike Malone.
In 2010-11, Mallon was an assistant coach on the New Orleans team that included Paul in the points guard and current Suns coach Monty Williams in his first year leading the NBA team. Paul said Monday that Mallon is one of his favorite coaches in his long NBA career.
“We always talk about playing for Monty 10 years ago, Mike was on the coaching staff,” Paul said Monday before the first game of the Nuggets-Suns. “He was my assistant coach. Every night I would watch the games, we would text or call each other, ‘They’re going to run this play or they’re going to run this play’ or what not.”
“The reasons why the Denver team is what they are is because of him.”
Since the Nuggets won’t start guard Jamal Murray and wingers Will Barton and PJ Dozier to start the series, Denver will be in rotation in the backyard for the subcommittee to keep up with Paul, Devin Booker and Suns reserve Cameron Payne.
The Nuggets will rotate with Facundo Campazzo, Austin Rivers, and Monte Morris alternating.
Health permitting, Paul hopes to take advantage of the group that is lacking in Murray. Paul mysteriously danced about how his shoulder injury improved four days between matches.
“It was good,” Paul said of the break. “I think it has been good for everyone. I am just trying to recover and prepare for this series. It will be tough.”
With that said, here’s what Paul had to say about Fred’s spin in the backyard nuggets.
PJ Facundo Campazzo
The 30-year-old rookie has a prolific career abroad and has made 19 appearances for Denver this year.
He met Paul on the international circuit during the 2012 London Olympics. His Argentine team faced Paul twice and the United States when Campazzo was 21 that summer.
This year, it took him a while for him to gain traction in the NBA. For the regular season, he averaged 6.1 points and 3.6 assists per game.
Campazzo is a skilled player who struggles at 5-foot-10 to score (38% overall) but is a good shooting player (35% on 3-pointers). He settled off early in the season, averaging 9.3 points, 5.2 assists in 1.7 steals against an inept Portland side to defend.
“Campazzo, you can see how long he’s been playing and the level of comfort he has now with Denver,” Paul said. “They trust him as they should. He plays hard, he competes with every possession.”
Let’s just say that in the regular season, Paul Slim showed up very ready to rudely welcome the newbie.
PJ Monte Morris
While Morris has retained the bench role for the Nuggets, he is the most likely candidate to play close.
The 25-year-old has quietly gone into his business as a non-volatile but under-appreciated player in the league. He is a selective and efficient shooter who finished the first round with 28 points and five assists Game 5 and then 22 points and nine assists in Game 6 against the Blazers.
On Malone’s behalf, Paul has worked and known Maurice over the past few years.
“He’s just a guy playing the right way,” Paul said. “He can shoot, score, pass, he won’t flip the ball. Someone will be in this league for a long time, but he just knows the game.”
Morris averaged 15.3 points and 5.8 assists in 30 minutes per game against Portland.
J. Marcus Howard
Howard, a novice from Marquette, averaged 15 minutes in four of six first-round games.
The 22-year-old, who attended Perry High School in Gilbert, Arizona, punched in the scoring and scored 9 of 20 from a three-point range in his first playoff.
Howard attended Chris Paul Elite Guard camp in 2018.
“The most important thing I’ve been trying to achieve through those two full days is to learn as much as I can,” Howard told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Really just pay attention to the rehearsals and some of the things he (Paul) does, especially in the movie sessions.
“He was doing rehearsals with us and being able to watch him and his actors was really helpful to me. Just to see how he does it in a game-like environment. I was able to simulate some of the things he was doing. Going to the movie with him, he really explains the game better than anyone else in the league .
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