NBA: Ranking all 30 starting centers for 2019-20

Clint Capela continues his growth last season, setting new career-highs in scoring and rebounding while expanding his minutes in the middle for the Houston Rockets.

That was before the Golden State Warriors neutralized him almost entirely during the Rockets’ second-round playoff exit.

In that series, Capela averaged just 8.8 points and 10.0 rebounds in 28.7 minutes per game while shooting 53.5 percent and going a horrific 7-for-16 at the foul line.

That was on the heels of a regular season during which the five-year veteran put up 16.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 33.6 minutes per game while shooting 64.8 percent overall and a credible 63.6 percent (a career-best) from the line.

In Houston’s 3-point dominant system, Capela’s job is to screen and get to the rim — layups and 3s people! — which he did to the tune of 240 dunks and a 74.7 percent success rate in the restricted area.

Capela knows his role and knows it well. Of his 732 shot attempts, all but seven came from 10 feet and closer and he didn’t attempt a shot from either the deep mid-range (anathema to Houston’s system anyway) or from 3-point range.

He is an active and effective rebounder, putting up percentage of 14.4 on the offensive glass and 27.6 on the defensive end, while the Rockets were 2.3 points per 100 possessions better with Capela in the game.

A late first-round pick in 2014, Capela is now a clearly established NBA starter and will have a mentor of a similar style behind him this season in veteran Tyson Chandler.

He’s matured as a player a great deal in a short time, but one does have to wonder how close to his ceiling Capela may be at this point.