Is Facu Campazzo the worst player in the NBA?

[BelgradeNugget]

He is one of the better passers in the world and is super pesk on D, so no. Got to be honest, this thread hurt my Euroleague fan feelings, there are so many worse players than Campazzo its not even funny. He is same as Rubio, where basic statsheat doesnt show his whole value.

He plays a ton of out of fit. He is on ball creator but not a shooter, where in Denver he runs a lot of off ball and just has to take spot up 3s, which is not his game. Make him run NBA second unit on a team that doesnt have all time great playmaker like Jokic, and he would do better, Like, get him on the Warriors.

Unfortunately he went from starter for Nuggets in POs last year, when they beat good Portland team, to unplayable this year. And the reason is this: "Facu takes 63% of his total attempts from 3. According to NBA.com 90% of those are open or wide open. He makes 31% of those shots." He is also afraid of the blocks so he is not even trying to shoot at the rim. So teams are simply ignoring him offensively, going under the screen, giving him space to shoot. Last night against Memphis, they were tripling Jokic on the post and simply ignoring Facu and he couldn't do nothing. He must learn how to shoot open 3s and flouters or he could be out of the league soon.

He never was a scorer in Europe and FIBA, but I am honestly shocked how bad he is at that at NBA level. Very disappointing, cause I was a huge believer, I pushed get this guy in the NBA narrative. Still a huge fan, just show how good NBA really is, this man was superstar in world cup leading his country to the finals in a tournament where USA finished in 7th. place. He is one of the most fun players to watch when things go his way, many great highlights over the years.

Agree 100%. Likable person too. Maybe it is just from too much basketball (nba+fiba) without time to rest his body, similar to Luka IMO. I hope he will bounce back. Last year he was good, this year he fell through the basement.

[NO-KG-AI]

My dude has those Cam Reddish shooting splits

At least he can pass well, which is probably the only reason he still has better BPM, Vorp, and Offensive and defensive rating.

[eathb_au]

His +/- looks awful because he's being tasked to be the playmaker on the team when Jokic goes off. And given that the Nuggets are absolutely terrible without Jokic, his net on/off numbers look catastrophically bad.

He is a passing point guard that is 30 years old and comes with Euroleague experience. It is literally an expectation of him to be able to do that

[The Rebel]

His +/- looks awful because he's being tasked to be the playmaker on the team when Jokic goes off. And given that the Nuggets are absolutely terrible without Jokic, his net on/off numbers look catastrophically bad.

He is the PG, by definition the PGs run the offense.

[pad300]

No. As the Nuggets have traded for Bryn Forbes, you will come to understand the horrible truth.

[bbalnation]

He would look pretty good (statistically) on Cleveland or Phoenix imo

[The Rebel]

Using on/off numbers to explain why Campazzo is bad isn't really helpful because out of Nuggets rotation players, Facu has played the least number of minutes next to Jokic. He's played only 346 of his 2364 minutes with Jokic. 2018 minutes without Jokic on the biggest 1 man show in the league. Basically, any bench-level player is going to look horrible in on/off operating as a playmaker when Jokic is off the floor. All you're really pointing out is how much worse Facu is than Jokic, which I'm pretty sure we all already know.

On/off numbers are relative to who you aren't playing with. For bench players, it often says more about the quality of the starters. Facu is in a pretty extreme situation and the on/off numbers are not helpful in terms of understanding his value of impact.

Sure plus minus is affected by the starters, but the fact of the matter the biggest issue with our bench is Compazzo.

You see the fact is that Campazzo cannot get around other guards to drive the lane, he cannot make a post entry pass, he struggles to make shots in the lane and struggles to finish at the rim, and he cannot shoot off the dribble well enough to force defenders to guard him. Literally the only things he does well on the offensive end is shoot spot up 3s. He is also very good at passing out of the pick and roll, but his lack of ability to shoot off the dribble allows defenders to just drop in the paint and closes off the entire roll and allows guards to stay with the bigs to defend the shots.

Defensively he is not fast enough to keep up with the younger PGs around the league, he also struggles with tall guards as well, he is literally only good against older PGs where he can piss them off being physical and hustling.

In a team with 3 good shooters and a good roll man he would be fine, but how many teams have that combination they can put together for their bench minutes? He is also fine against other guards when he can play off the ball and play team defense, but the Nuggets do not have another guy who can guard small guards off the bench. He is fine on a team playing with pace where he can lead breaks and quick offensive sets, even with a ball dominate player as he is a decent spot up 3 point shooter.


Oddly with JayMichael Green, Zeke Nnaji, Davon Reed, and Bones Hyland the Nuggets have had 4 guys that have to be covered at the 3 point line. Even Rivers can get hot, but yet our offense struggles because nobody can get into the lane, why is that? Who do you think they are leaving uncovered? Campazzo is a terrible fit for the Nuggets, he may be better in a different role, but he is not someone who has the ability to be a solid rotation guy on a good team and he is a huge detriment for the Nuggets as a whole.

[dk1115]

I can’t say for sure, but watching him in a couple warriors vs Denver games this year, he kinda irked me in no specific way. Reminds me of that dude that played with Lebrun James vs warriors

[cupcakesnake]

Using on/off numbers to explain why Campazzo is bad isn't really helpful because out of Nuggets rotation players, Facu has played the least number of minutes next to Jokic. He's played only 346 of his 2364 minutes with Jokic. 2018 minutes without Jokic on the biggest 1 man show in the league. Basically, any bench-level player is going to look horrible in on/off operating as a playmaker when Jokic is off the floor. All you're really pointing out is how much worse Facu is than Jokic, which I'm pretty sure we all already know.

On/off numbers are relative to who you aren't playing with. For bench players, it often says more about the quality of the starters. Facu is in a pretty extreme situation and the on/off numbers are not helpful in terms of understanding his value of impact.

Sure plus minus is affected by the starters, but the fact of the matter the biggest issue with our bench is Compazzo.

You see the fact is that Campazzo cannot get around other guards to drive the lane, he cannot make a post entry pass, he struggles to make shots in the lane and struggles to finish at the rim, and he cannot shoot off the dribble well enough to force defenders to guard him. Literally the only things he does well on the offensive end is shoot spot up 3s. He is also very good at passing out of the pick and roll, but his lack of ability to shoot off the dribble allows defenders to just drop in the paint and closes off the entire roll and allows guards to stay with the bigs to defend the shots.

Defensively he is not fast enough to keep up with the younger PGs around the league, he also struggles with tall guards as well, he is literally only good against older PGs where he can piss them off being physical and hustling.

In a team with 3 good shooters and a good roll man he would be fine, but how many teams have that combination they can put together for their bench minutes? He is also fine against other guards when he can play off the ball and play team defense, but the Nuggets do not have another guy who can guard small guards off the bench. He is fine on a team playing with pace where he can lead breaks and quick offensive sets, even with a ball dominate player as he is a decent spot up 3 point shooter.


Oddly with JayMichael Green, Zeke Nnaji, Davon Reed, and Bones Hyland the Nuggets have had 4 guys that have to be covered at the 3 point line. Even Rivers can get hot, but yet our offense struggles because nobody can get into the lane, why is that? Who do you think they are leaving uncovered? Campazzo is a terrible fit for the Nuggets, he may be better in a different role, but he is not someone who has the ability to be a solid rotation guy on a good team and he is a huge detriment for the Nuggets as a whole.

I don't strongly disagree with what you're saying. I kind of like Facu's game but his limitations feel extra glaring with the lineups/role he's in in Denver. I'm just pointing out what the plus-minus number means specifically in Facu's situation since the OP was leaning on plus-minus as evidence for him being the worst player in the NBA. Whichever rotation player plays the least minutes with Jokic, will have the worst +/-. That means primarily Facu and Jamychal Green. If Facu is the worst player in the NBA, it isn't because his plus/minus is bad.

Facu doesn't fit with Jokic either though since his shooting is below average and he's not going to offer much as a cutter due to his height and athleticism. He's a fun player, but yeah he never seems to make sense on the court there.

[SpreeS]

Facu Campazzo's by minutes definition is the Nuggets 6th man this season and to be honest there is no justfication for this.

Of the 38 games he has played this year:

Only 6 times has he had a positive +/-

The opponents in those games have been HOU, POR (w/o Lillard), ATL, NYK, SAS (2x).

He has had 2 games with a 0 +/- -

He has had 30 games with a negative +/-

The Nuggets are 13pts better per 100 offensively when he's off the court

The Nuggets are 10pts better per 100 defensively when he's off the court

The Nuggets shoot 5% better (EFG%) when he's off the floor

The Nuggets have a lower Turnover % when he's off the floor

The Nuggets Opponents shoot 5% worse (EFG%) when he's off the floor

The Nuggets Opponents shoot FTs less frequently when he's off the floor

The Nuggets Opponents get less OREBs when he's off the floor

So he has been a net negative on ~80% of the games hes played and has only been a positive against non-playoff teams. The Nuggets are +23 pts better with him off the floor per 100, 10+pts better both offensively and defensively. The team is shooting, defending, & rebounding better and turning the ball over less and their opponents are shooting worse, with less FTs, and less OREBs when he's on the bench.

Facu’s -23.5 on/off differential is 1st percentile in the league. My god.

Read on Twitter

?s=21

Other stats floating around:

Facundo Campazzo is -234 this season, the worst +/- by a player on a .500 team. That’s -111 worse than the next worst player.

Over the last 22 games, Facu has shot 34% from the field and is averaging 25 minutes per night over that span.

Facu has scored 2 points or less in 5 of his last 7 games. He's played 106 minutes over that stretch.

Facu takes 63% of his total attempts from 3. According to NBA.com 90% of those are open or wide open. He makes 31% of those shots.

Jokic is +263 this season. In the 335 minutes (25% of Jokic's total minutes) with Facu he is -16.

Facu has a negative 6 net rating with Jokic. The only player on the Nuggets to have played over 25 minutes with Jokic and have a negative net rating with him.

Every player on Denver's bench; Bones, Ja Green, Zeke, and Austin Rivers are worse when playing with Facu no matter how you work the lineup combinations. All bench or mixed starters. Worse with Facu on the court.

He's clearly well liked by the team and I also enjoy watching the effort he plays with, but at the end of the day he's basically a 10 pt swing in the wrong direction 4/5 games.

The on/off numbers that gets used to suggest Nikola Jokic is the MVP would suggest that Facu is the LVP. Yin and Yang right now.

If you play the most time with players like Green, Green, Hyland, Nnaji, Rivers against other team mixed units, it’s possible to have the worst -/+ on the team.

[AussieBuck]

He's not even in the worst 2 guards on his own team.

[eathb_au]

Facu Campazzo's by minutes definition is the Nuggets 6th man this season and to be honest there is no justfication for this.

Of the 38 games he has played this year:

Only 6 times has he had a positive +/-

The opponents in those games have been HOU, POR (w/o Lillard), ATL, NYK, SAS (2x).

He has had 2 games with a 0 +/- -

He has had 30 games with a negative +/-

The Nuggets are 13pts better per 100 offensively when he's off the court

The Nuggets are 10pts better per 100 defensively when he's off the court

The Nuggets shoot 5% better (EFG%) when he's off the floor

The Nuggets have a lower Turnover % when he's off the floor

The Nuggets Opponents shoot 5% worse (EFG%) when he's off the floor

The Nuggets Opponents shoot FTs less frequently when he's off the floor

The Nuggets Opponents get less OREBs when he's off the floor

So he has been a net negative on ~80% of the games hes played and has only been a positive against non-playoff teams. The Nuggets are +23 pts better with him off the floor per 100, 10+pts better both offensively and defensively. The team is shooting, defending, & rebounding better and turning the ball over less and their opponents are shooting worse, with less FTs, and less OREBs when he's on the bench.

Facu’s -23.5 on/off differential is 1st percentile in the league. My god.

Read on Twitter

?s=21

Other stats floating around:

Facundo Campazzo is -234 this season, the worst +/- by a player on a .500 team. That’s -111 worse than the next worst player.

Over the last 22 games, Facu has shot 34% from the field and is averaging 25 minutes per night over that span.

Facu has scored 2 points or less in 5 of his last 7 games. He's played 106 minutes over that stretch.

Facu takes 63% of his total attempts from 3. According to NBA.com 90% of those are open or wide open. He makes 31% of those shots.

Jokic is +263 this season. In the 335 minutes (25% of Jokic's total minutes) with Facu he is -16.

Facu has a negative 6 net rating with Jokic. The only player on the Nuggets to have played over 25 minutes with Jokic and have a negative net rating with him.

Every player on Denver's bench; Bones, Ja Green, Zeke, and Austin Rivers are worse when playing with Facu no matter how you work the lineup combinations. All bench or mixed starters. Worse with Facu on the court.

He's clearly well liked by the team and I also enjoy watching the effort he plays with, but at the end of the day he's basically a 10 pt swing in the wrong direction 4/5 games.

The on/off numbers that gets used to suggest Nikola Jokic is the MVP would suggest that Facu is the LVP. Yin and Yang right now.

If you play the most time with players like Green, Green, Hyland, Nnaji, Rivers against other team mixed units, it’s possible to have the worst -/+ on the team.

It should be explained that even Facu in comparison to the rest of the bench, his numbers are even more minus than his bench counterparts.

[monopoman]

His +/- looks awful because he's being tasked to be the playmaker on the team when Jokic goes off. And given that the Nuggets are absolutely terrible without Jokic, his net on/off numbers look catastrophically bad.

If that's the case shouldn't all the Denver players that don't have the privilege of sharing the court with Jokic look like trash then? His numbers look historically bad, not just "Oh well he isn't out there with Denver's best players." Plenty of bench guys get in situations where they only share the court with the best players on the team rarely or not often.

We all know Jokic is the key piece on the team and his health/playtime is a huge aspect of how good they are but trying to give Campazzo a pass seems silly to me.

[Alatan]

He is one of the better passers in the world and is super pesk on D, so no. Got to be honest, this thread hurt my Euroleague fan feelings, there are so many worse players than Campazzo its not even funny. He is same as Rubio, where basic statsheat doesnt show his whole value.

He plays a ton of out of fit. He is on ball creator but not a shooter, where in Denver he runs a lot of off ball and just has to take spot up 3s, which is not his game. Make him run NBA second unit on a team that doesnt have all time great playmaker like Jokic, and he would do better, Like, get him on the Warriors.

No, sorry to tell you but Campazzo is ass at everything. He is not a shooter but he is also not a on ball creator because he has zero scoring threats and just gets left alone while opponents take away passing lanes. He cant hit wide open shots, or finish at the rim. All his flash is useless.

On the defensive end he looks like he is doing something but at the end of the day he is too small and opponents shoot over him like he doesnt exist. He can be a pest on weak ballhandlers but he gives away so, so much more.

Terrible player.

[UcanUwill]

He is one of the better passers in the world and is super pesk on D, so no. Got to be honest, this thread hurt my Euroleague fan feelings, there are so many worse players than Campazzo its not even funny. He is same as Rubio, where basic statsheat doesnt show his whole value.

He plays a ton of out of fit. He is on ball creator but not a shooter, where in Denver he runs a lot of off ball and just has to take spot up 3s, which is not his game. Make him run NBA second unit on a team that doesnt have all time great playmaker like Jokic, and he would do better, Like, get him on the Warriors.

No, sorry to tell you but Campazzo is ass at everything. He is not a shooter but he is also not a on ball creator because he has zero scoring threats and just gets left alone while opponents take away passing lanes. He cant hit wide open shots, or finish at the rim. All his flash is useless.

On the defensive end he looks like he is doing something but at the end of the day he is too small and opponents shoot over him like he doesnt exist. He can be a pest on weak ballhandlers but he gives away so, so much more.

Terrible player.

I disagree, we had this conversation, I think his defense is still good, you underrating him on that end. And even tho he cant shoot, he has his moments as a passer, like when he plays with Naji of whatever that guys name, I feel like Facu is getting that man NBA contract, cause they have chemistry and Facu creates a lot of open looks for that guy.
Facundo is basically a foot shorter Draymond Green.

[Alatan]

He is one of the better passers in the world and is super pesk on D, so no. Got to be honest, this thread hurt my Euroleague fan feelings, there are so many worse players than Campazzo its not even funny. He is same as Rubio, where basic statsheat doesnt show his whole value.

He plays a ton of out of fit. He is on ball creator but not a shooter, where in Denver he runs a lot of off ball and just has to take spot up 3s, which is not his game. Make him run NBA second unit on a team that doesnt have all time great playmaker like Jokic, and he would do better, Like, get him on the Warriors.

No, sorry to tell you but Campazzo is ass at everything. He is not a shooter but he is also not a on ball creator because he has zero scoring threats and just gets left alone while opponents take away passing lanes. He cant hit wide open shots, or finish at the rim. All his flash is useless.

On the defensive end he looks like he is doing something but at the end of the day he is too small and opponents shoot over him like he doesnt exist. He can be a pest on weak ballhandlers but he gives away so, so much more.

Terrible player.

I disagree, we had this conversation, I think his defense is still good, you underrating him on that end. And even tho he cant shoot, he has his moments as a passer, like when he plays with Naji of whatever that guys name, I feel like Facu is getting that man NBA contract, cause they have chemistry and Facu creates a lot of open looks for that guy.
Facundo is basically a foot shorter Draymond Green.

Facu has his moments but they are really rare. His optimal setup is to play PnR with a lob threat big but even there he is suboptimal as almost any NBA guard can play PnR with a big better than Campazzo. Problem is Campazzo cant score to save his life and teams know it. They just drop on him, take away the passing lanes and force him to finish at the rim. He looks terrible in those situations.

On the defensive end he knows what he is doing but he is just too short. Doesnt matter if he is in the right place he doesnt bother anyone. As i said he can bother only non star guards with weak handles. Better guards leave him in the dust, SG shoot over him, wings run him over or shoot over him. Cs dont even know he is there.

He is not a good defender because he is too small.

[MemphisX]

Facu is just what Westbrook was describing with Pat Bev. He runs around a lot and plays very animated, so it appears he is doing stuff but he sucks. He will make a few plays every game but it does not make up for the general drain he brings to your team on offense AND defense.

[Maf]

Yep, those are my fellow Nuggets fans.

I admit he is terrible shooter. Almost all his shots are couple of feets wide open and he can't hit anything (37.6% FG, 31% 3pt). He is pass-first PG with very nice 3.3 A/TO ratio. He is also 2nd on Nuggets in total assists, 2nd in total steals and guess what, 4th in total blocks.

We have Austin Rivers on our bench who... does nothing. He can't shoot, can't pass, can't play defense can't... Whatever you name Austin can't do it. Rest of our bench is terrible, too. Like most reliable back up is second rounder who was three years out of the league. Yet somehow it is all Facu's fault.

But hey, not that long ago it was all about Will Barton who by those posters was the worst player in NBA and should be traded for future second rounder or waived.

[User_friendly]

The thing is. Would the rest of NBA players have a better +/- result in a similar situation?. If so, he might be the worst. But I doubt it.

[Bhut Jolokia]

I would rather have 30 year old, Facu Campazzo, over 29 year old, Austin Rivers. Both play about 20 mpg on the same Denver Nuggets team. I think Campazzo is the better bench player though.