Houston Rockets: 2017-18 player grades for Clint Capela
Highlights
Although the Rockets’ fantastic season came to a devastating close at the hands of Golden State, Clint Capela still managed to provide fans across the Space City with an abundance of magnificent performances in his fourth season, throwing down a series of jams on the way towards putting up some impressive highlights and numbers.
After posting just 25 double-doubles through his first three NBA seasons, Capela managed to come back and produce a total of 42 double-doubles in the 2017-18 campaign, including one that managed to place him in a category all by himself.
In a February home game against the Denver Nuggets, Capela imposed his will against fellow center Nikola Jokic, scoring 23 points in a 130-104 win at home. He also hauled in a career-high 25 rebounds to become the first player in league history to score 20 points and record 25 rebounds in less than 29 minutes of play.
Capela, who had only reached the 20-rebound milestone just once prior to the contest, became the youngest Rocket since Hakeem Olajuwon to finish with at least 23 points and 25 rebounds in a game.
However, Capela was not done seeking to add his name into the record books, as he continued to put together marquee performances while helping guide the Rockets to the conference finals.
During the opening round of the playoffs, Capela put together two 20-point, 10-rebound outings against Karl-Anthony Towns, to help the Rockets knock off the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games.
He posted another double-double in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Utah Jazz, scoring 12 points alongside 15 rebounds, showing exactly why he is considered to be the lead anchor behind Houston’s sixth-ranked defense.
In the final three minutes of regulation, Capela recorded five out of his game-high six blocks on the night, becoming the only player in the last 20 seasons to accomplish the feat in either the regular or postseason. The big man played a critical factor yet again at both ends of the floor, helping the Rockets advance past Utah in a hard-fought, five-game series.