Gobert has better length? I think Capela sports a solid 7'6 or better wing span. He's much more agile and quicker than Gobert with superior athleticism making him a better catch and lob post player overall. I take Capela over Gobert every day of the week.
The answer to that isn't that Capela has a nice reach, but it is a resounding YES! Rudy Gobert is 7'1" with a wingspan of 7'9", Capela is 6'10" with a 7'4" wingspan. I love Capela (I'm swiss, so I better. It's not like I have a lot of Swiss NBA players to root for ;-) ) and understand if you prefer him to Rudy Gobert. But some people in this thread seem to forget that Gobert is a defensive monster. Even though Capela is quicker and better at defending at the perimeter, I think there's no way that he is the better defender of the two.
at the same time utah's defensive scheme is focused on funneling guys towards gobert. that's what works for them. thats not what houston does it goes back to my point, playing against more discipline teams gobert gets exposed. against okc of course hes going to look better than he is bc those guys dont adjust
This is supremely overlooked in general. And it is a bit confusing. Old school centers used to do this ALL THE TIME. Sprint down the floor. Down the middle of the floor. Under the basket. Old school centers would do it, and if they didn't get the ball in transition, then post up, and be able to post up close to the basket. This was super frustrating when we had Yao and heck even Dwight. With Yao, you just chalked it up to the fact the dude was so tall and lumbered really more than ran. With Dwight... just ended up considering that his bball IQ, on the court, just didn't translate. You hear Shaq say it all the time. And he says it because, even though he's completely unique in terms of size/athleticism, he still took advantage of that by running to the basket, then turning to post. Maybe the limited minutes for Clint is finally paying off. In terms of energy put out, he's like a big version of Russ imo. He is CONSTANTLY rim running. Defensively he is CONSTANTLY trying to cover as much ground as possible. As dumb as it sounds, his effort is just beyond what many other bigs are out there.
Clint's ability now to play 35 minutes a night has changed everything. Especially with 48 minutes of elite PG play with Harden and CP3 on the roster. That means for 3/4 of the game, that alleyoop is there. Which opens everything up for Harden's drives and CP3's midrange jumper. Also, Clint can now hit 56% of his free throws. Which is still mediocre, but it's just high enough that "Hack-apela" is a risky defensive proposition for the opponent. And that's just on the offensive end. Clint has improved as a shotblocker and rebounder, and he can switch more on defense thanks to the additions of Tucker and Mbah a Moute. There's a reason this team is virtually unbeatable this season(47-4) when CP3, Harden, and Capela are in the lineup.
Another big plus for Capela is how well he has been handling the ball out on the perimeter more recently.
Sefolosha haha, injured Jazz player. BTW I want to see Gobert vs Capela without Harden and CP3.......makes it even.
I've said once and I'll say it again. Capela has elite hands and it's under appreciated. He catches passes that no other current center can with any consistency. Yao had below average hands which caused lots of turnovers. Kwame Brown's stone hands was the reason he was one of the biggest busts ever.
Reggie said it and I agree, Capela has outplayed KAT and Gobert. He looks like the best rim defender in the league and his ability to switch and stay with guys driving makes him the best defensive big currently.
HUGE point. Playoffs are about adjustments. It's why coaches like Pop can get blown out one game and come back and dominate the next. Gobert is a great rim-protector but he can be exploited. He's slow, has poor lower body strength, and isn't a reliable offensive option. He's a better rim protector than Capela but our guy is miles ahead of him in everything else. I'd take our fella Capela every time.