7 X-factors who could shape the 2020-21 NBA season

7. Clint Capela

Among the hoopla surrounding the signings of guys like Danilo Gallinari and Bogdan Bogdanovic, Clint Capela sits among them as a notable acquisition who has yet to play a game for the Atlanta Hawks

Capela was too offensively limited for the Rockets but is exactly the type of interior presence the Hawks could benefit from at both ends.

Atlanta had the league’s third-worst defense from a season ago while surrendering the most points in the paint and second-most second-chance points per game. Capela has increased his rebounding average in each of his six seasons up to 13.8 a game last year while averaging 1.8 blocks a night and holding opponents 4.7 percentage points below their average within six feet of the rim.

The last time Houston was a primary benefactor of the two-man game, Capela ranked inside the 91st percentile as a roll man. Only now, after receiving dimes from Chris Paul and James Harden, he’ll get the chance to free up and catch lobs from Trae Young, who averaged 9.3 assists per game last season, second only to LeBron James.

Lloyd Pierce has quite the rotation to build following a busy offseason of acquisitions. Sometimes that won’t always include Capela in the final minutes of a tight game, with offensive-friendly lineups the preferred choice.

But the Hawks haven’t been shy about needing someone to help shore up all the defensive woes that plague this young team. Some of those warts will have been corrected through experience. Others will remain. It’ll be on Capela to clean as many up as possible to help get Atlanta back to the playoffs.