Despite missing the final 15 games prior to All-Star break with a right thumb injury, Houston Rockets center Clint Capela has returned to provide his squad with valuable energy as of recent times.
March 17, 2019.
It’s a fairly warm and cozy evening in the Space City, as the Houston Rockets were in the midst of battle against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Toyota Center. While the majority of basketball aficionados had their sights set on a major hoops event set to begin in the following days, Minnesota’s All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns was hustling hard to provide defensive help to his teammate Tyus Jones on James Harden.
Yet there was one particular problem, as Andrew Wiggins‘ failure to stunt the pick-and-roll on a drive from the league’s leading scorer led to an easy alley-oop for one of the game’s promising young talents.
Enter Clint Capela.
In a recent rematch of last year’s first round playoff series, Capela forced Minnesota’s defense to pay for not tending to him inside — by setting hard screens and sprinting the floor — to beat Towns for multiple scoring opportunities en route to a 20-point, 13-rebound outing in Houston’s 117-102 victory on St. Patrick’s Day.
"“Clint is a huge part of our offense,” Harden said following the Rockets’ 121-105 win against the Atlanta Hawks on March 19, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.“When he’s running like that, running down the floor, putting pressure on opposing bigs to be able to run with him, like I told him before, ‘You keep running like that, I’ll throw you the ball every single time, no matter if I turn it over or not’…That makes our team go. He opens lanes up for not only myself but the rest of the guys.”"
The 24-year-old center who missed a month of action due to a right thumb injury — and once struggled with fatigue issues — has bounced back to bestow the Rockets with extended minutes since making his way back into the starting lineup.
Over the last 10 games, Capela has averaged 15.6 points and 12.7 rebounds per game for Clutch City while shooting 68.1 percent from the field.
https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1109972372843573254
"“I enjoy it whenever I get the ball and score,” Capela told reporters last week. “I enjoy whenever I run, go back to the screen and get the lob.”“I enjoy when I run, guards have to guard me…Whenever I run like that, it just creates space for the team.”"
Although it remains to be seen whether or not Capela can find a way to prosper through heavy forms of exhaustion in the playoffs, the Swiss Roll’s live presence inside has managed to play a key factor in the Rockets’ success on both ends of the court lately.
Since his return to the rotation following the All-Star break, Houston boasts the fourth-best defensive rating in basketball — allowing 106.2 points per 100 possessions — and has knocked down a league-high 16.2 triples per game from beyond the arc. The 6’10”, 240-pound big man’s willingness to block shots, rebound, run and finish inside has helped the Rockets furnish wide open shots from 3-point range. In addition, this has led to scoring opportunities out in transition, as Houston has scored an average of 14.5 fast break points over their last 17 outings.
"“It translates into points for the whole team because when he runs, he either gets a hard pass from James or [Chris Paul],” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni told Feigen following Capela’s 26-point, 11-rebound night against the Hawks. “Which not many people can throw — or…him running sucks the defense in and gives us a lot of 3s.”“He’s a key and having him run the whole game is important.”"
Capela and the Rockets will take advantage of an off day, prior to taking on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.