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Houston Rockets: How Clint Capela has emerged into their ideal center

By Gavriel Wilkins

Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images /
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After receiving multiple assignments to play in the G League his rookie season, Clint Capela has managed to emerge as Clutch City’s ideal big man, as the fourth-year center from Switzerland has risen from the ground up to become a major offensive weapon for the Houston Rockets.

Despite playing on a team that is currently on pace to become the first franchise in league history to attempt more 3-pointers than 2s this season, Houston Rockets center Clint Capela has found a way to stand out by doing the complete opposite. The 6’9″, 240-pound force has quietly become one of the most vital offensive weapons on the best team in basketball.

The 23-year-old big man is currently averaging a career-high 14.6 points and 11.1 rebounds per game in his fourth season down in Clutch City, and currently leads the league in both dunks and field goal percentage. He also ranks within the top 10 or better among qualified players in Player Efficiency Rating and True Shooting Percentage.

Yet despite his improved play as of late, Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant did not seek to palliate his words in response to the rising star, just a few days after Capela said that the Rockets are better than the defending world champions. This only added more fuel to what has become a heated rivalry this season.

"“You hear it from guys like Capela,” Durant said to ESPN‘s Chris Haynes last month following the Rockets’ 116-108 victory against Golden State on Jan. 20.“Usually he’s catching the ball and laying it up from [Chris Paul] or James Harden. His job is not that hard….It’s pretty easy for him.”"

While there is plenty of truth to Durant’s remarks according to several advanced statistics and splits, Houston has not had to rely upon Capela to do anything more than set screens, roll to the rim and make himself available inside whenever Harden and Paul both seek to drive inside the lane or run the floor — a skill-set most centers in modern basketball are called upon to do on their respective teams.

However, stating something like that without any further elaboration falls short of the mark.

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In order for Paul and Harden to be able to take advantage of defenses, it requires the right players to be around them at all times. That means the likes of Trevor Ariza, Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon, who all command attention due to the amount of spacing that they contribute as knockdown shooters from beyond the arc, alongside Capela himself.

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The Swiss center has work countless hours to evolve on his craft in the effort to establish himself as the quintessential sidekick to a dynamic backcourt. He generates a significant deal of his scoring opportunities within pick-and-roll sets, cuts and put-backs throughout the 2017-18 campaign. These three different types of plays make the Swiss Roll so reliant upon his star-studded cast in order to score, and they are the areas of the floor where he is arguably at his best on offense.

As of today, Capela currently ranks in the 88.1 percentile with 1.34 points per possession as the Rockets’ roll man, the 61.1 percentile with 1.33 points per possession on cuts inside and in the 61.3 percentile on put-backs — scoring 1.15 points per possession. Surrounded by two individuals that seek to constantly expose opposing defenses in pick-and-roll and isolation sets, this athletic center converts nearly 70 percent of his shots within the restricted area of the floor.

He also spawns second chance opportunities for either himself or his teammates in the process, as Capela’s presence on the floor helps to reduce the amount of reads that Paul and Harden both make in the midst of orchestrating Houston’s offense.

Oftentimes, this can lead to plays such as these when opposing defenses decide to remain inland on the perimeter, as the Rockets will place several shooters on one side of the court and have either Paul or Harden run a pick-and-roll play with Capela on the opposite side:

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While it might appear to look easy, these plays require Capela to carefully study the defense, from seeking out how to properly set the screen to when he should roll to the basket. As a player that was sent down on multiple assignments with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the G League in his rookie season, Capela has developed into Houston’s ideal 5-man for the foreseeable future.

"“You wouldn’t know that this is only his fourth or fifth year in the league,” Paul said to reporters shortly following Capela’s 25-point, 11-rebound performance in the Rockets’ 120-102 win versus the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. “I think he’s just going to continue to grow, and it’s been fun because he’s not only a great player, but a great person….it’s a reason why we win all the time when he plays.”"

Next: 2017-18 Week 19 NBA Power Rankings

Houston will seek to remain unbeaten in the month of February as it prepares to square off against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets Saturday night.

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