How Clint Capela’s Injury Will Affect Houston Rockets
By Deasia Paige
Clint Capela has been instrumental to the success of the Houston Rockets this season. Will his absence slow the team down?
The Houston Rockets have surged to the top of the league this season. Their success has been one of the top stories this season. With a record of 21-8, the Rockets are currently ranked fourth in the West. But the recent news of Clint Capela‘s injury could halt the team’s newfound success.
Reported first by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, Capela will miss about a month and a half due to a broken fibula.
Capela suffered the injury after colliding with Karl Anthony-Towns in a Rockets’ win against the Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Sources: Rockets still waiting for final medical intel on Capela leg injury, but bracing to be without him for 4-to-6 weeks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 20, 2016
On Tuesday morning, the Houston Rockets organization made Capela’s injury status offcialy by stating that he will be re-evaluated in four weeks for a small left fibula fracture.
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The news comes at a bad time for the Rockets, who are were on a ten game winning streak before losing to the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday night. Capela has been the dominant force in the paint for the Rockets this season.
He is averaging 11.8 points per game along with 8.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. Once Dwight Howard was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, Capela has stepped in and played a larger role this season. And it worked out, too.
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The Rockets have depended on Capela’s talent on both ends of the floor. He is currently shooting 64 percent from the floor, third-best in the NBA. He has ranks 13th in the league for defensive impact.
Therefore, the Rockets have lost a huge aspect of their team. But Capela is hopeful that he will return in a timely manner.
Of his broken fibula, he said, according to Mark Berman of Houston Fox KRIV-TV:
"“I will be okay. It happens. So now I’m just focused on the treatment, rehab stuff. I think I can be back pretty soon. The doctor, he said like a month and then after that it depends on how I am dealing with pain. I’m just focused on trying to reduce the pain as much as I can. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be less than six weeks. Of course its tough……I just hope to be back as soon as possible.”"
The only options in replacing Capela would be to give the team’s big men more minutes. However, none of them have the defensive and offensive ability that matched Capela’s.
While Nene seems to be the logical option to replace Capela, he lacks the depth and versatility that Capela provided. Capela is the best rim protector on the Rockets’ roster.
The biggest concern for the Rockets right now is for them to survive this loss and stay at the top of the Western Conference. They are playing their best basketball in the past couple of seasons and it would be disappointing to see them crumble under the pressure.
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Hopefully for the Rockets, Capela’s absence won’t be too much of a problem.