He's also getting smarter about foul trouble. He's learning to dial it back when he has too many fouls relative to the point in the game. Then he becomes more aggressive when the time is right. That allows him to stay on the court longer instead of getting pulled the second he's in foul trouble. Those lobs are a direct result of Harden's incredible passing and I don't know if his offensive success would follow him to another team. His scoring seems to drop off as soon as Harden sits down. But his defensive skills are 100% his own. It wouldn't matter who he was playing with. That's why he is Clint Mutombo not Clint Olajuwan. He has a long bright future ahead of him.
his offense will come. he knew his ticket to playing time was defense and rebounding. he worked on that to become the starter. now you see him starting to have a little spin move off the dribble, a euro step, his ft shooting improved a great deal... his offense is coming next and when it does we will have a top 5 center. dude's getting maxed out this summer.
And as good as Clint's interior D was in game 3, there's this which has probably been his main defensive strength for us all year:
How many safety nets you gonna throw our there for your protection, kiddo? "I stand by those remarks.....for now." Until when? You're proven wrong? Because that time and point has already passed before your eyes. The fact that you think Clint is replaceable is absolutely laughable. He is a premiere center in this league and one of the most coveted. There is literally no one who is a better fit for this team style wise. His defense has been absolutely amazing, whereas you claim it to be his area of weakness. Are there better centers in the league? Yes. Is there one better suited for this team right now? Absolutely not.
I wonder will he stay in the off-season. All this time on national tv just making teams throw max money at him.
Re-signing Capela is our #1 priority, no way you let him leave! Not even for Lebron or PG. CP3 needs to take that pay cut.
So the only way you can be proven wrong is if the Rockets win the championship?!? Talk about casting a wide safety net. I respect people holding on to their beliefs if there is no evidence that they are wrong. But in this case, there is DATA that proves you are wrong, and have been wrong for a long time. Capela is fast, nimble, has good reflexes, is a quick learner, ambitious, confident and alas, can play the game of basketball at a very high level. Oh, and he has also proven to be an asset to this team, on both sides of the court. Just man up and admit you are wrong. Either that, or follow the advice of others here and keep your mouth (or fingers) shut.
some may say this is a little bit of an over reach but I actually think Capella is our MVP of the team he anchors our defense with shot blocking and intimidation. really covers up a lot of our other players mistakes and allow for guys like Harden to roam a bit. his rebounding is also now top notch and offensively, he does what is needed of him and highly efficient
Besides his hands, PnR defense is another thing that separates Clint from Dwight. Dwight is stiff as a board and has little lateral quickness. Clint is agile. So far, he's done everything I wanted him to do in the playoffs.
Hopefully this doesn't change his mindset and play. I know one of the things Morey mentioned at the Sloan conference is they are looking into is how a player reacts to getting a big contract and impact to their production.
I've always been on board with Clint and always saw a lot of promise in him; but I have to admit I never thought he'd be this big of a difference maker. It's crazy to me that Holic still can't admit he was wrong. Dude wanted to trade Clint straight up for Thon Maker. Capela just out played Karl Anthony Townes and is now out playing Rudy Gobert. WHAT?!?! He won't even admit that he's playing great. C'mon, man. Just own your mistake. It's okay. We're all wrong sometimes. Here I'll show you how it's done. I thought Danny Fortson was going to be a dominant force in the league. I was wrong. I jumped up out of my chair and cheered when we traded three draft picks for Eddie Griffin (RIP). I was wrong. I thought Donatas Motiejunas had borderline all-star potential. I was wrong. I was in favor of the Royce White pick. I was wrong. I was really angry when the Rockets hired D'antoni instead of JVG. I was wrong. See? It's not that hard, man. YOU CAN DO IT!
I thought this was possible before the playoffs. You better believe NBA GMs are looking at what he's doing against elite centers in the Playoffs in Gobert and KAT. If KAT is worth the max then Clint should be as well.
