Houston Rockets: 2017-18 player grades for Clint Capela
Weaknesses
In spite of making tremendous strides from the free throw line for the third straight year, Capela showed that he still has a long way to go during one of the most critical moments of the season for the Rockets, missing freebies at a time in which his team needed each and every one to fall.
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After scoring 14 points early in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, Capela struggled late, and soon after, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr applied the Hack-A-Capela strategy to send him to the charity stripe late in the game.
Capela, who shot a career-high 56 percent from the free throw line during the regular season, missed four out of his six foul shots en route being held to six points in the second half. He failed to find any rhythm throughout the course of the postseason, shooting a league-worst 47 percent from the line during the playoffs.
Although Capela still managed to put together an impressive season, he must continue working on his shooting at the line should he want to be on the floor late in crunch time. Finding a way to turn the corner from the free throw line, combined with adding a couple of post moves to his repertoire, could be enough to help the Rockets surpass Golden State in the Western Conference should they hold onto him.