Your joking right? Ariza is our best perimeter defender... and has championship pedigree He plays passing lanes really well and usually guards the best opposing offensive player... Thornton although he is playing well at the moment can disappear at times he is better suited of the bench.
The "Kid" can make this Rockets team really scary with his continued development. His future in the NBA looks outstanding. Imagine what he will be by the playoffs next spring....and what this team could look like if DMo et al are healthy. He needs to continue to work with the coaching staff, especially McHale who has as much to teach him as anyone in basketball. It is a great time to be a Rockets fan!
Compared to whom? Whiteside would be considered very big by many due to his long arms and reach. He is 227 6'11 with a 7'7 wingspan and 9'5 reach. Capela is 6'11 with a 7'5 wingspan and 9'3 reach. He is huge. Needs to add bulk, but was 220 last year, and 240 this year. I don't see there being an issue size wise for the kid. Surely that is the least of his concerns?
Big props to Capela for his FT improvement. How many did he miss before finally making one last season? He's got a good looking form and he's now 60% from the line. Shooting 79.4% FG and holding his own pretty decently inside and is gaining valuable experience this season and gained some last postseason as well. He appears to have to drive to improve. Great to have him.
Whiteside, though has 2 inches on him and much more weight. Not that Capela can't gain size, both at their peaks-- I'd give the nod to Whiteside.
so one can't say Capela has zero upside based on what he's doing right now on the court...Capela is no Hakeem but he's getting coaching from both the dream and mchale which has tremendous upside potential attached to it
Despite your moniker that you misspell, I don't think you saw Phi Slama Jama live, nor watched the NCAA finals where Hakeem squared off against Ewing at age 21 with dueling turn around jumpers. Nor do you remember that Akeem won the 1983 NCAA Tournament Player of the Year Award at age 20. He already had his turnaround jumper to win that award. Oh, and at age 22 he was the #1 pick in the NBA, ahead of Jordan, as proof that he was more than blocks and dunks. And at age 23, he proved it on the biggest stage possible, destroying the defending champion Magic and Kareem team four games in a row in the WCF, scoring like 35 ppg. He didn't learn that overnight. You are just wrong if you think Akeem didn't have a developed offensive game at age 21. Takes like yours happen every time the Rockets get an African-heritage big man, like Badiane. ppl try to say Akeem was raw at their age, too. Akeem was raw at age 18 and 19. Not 21 and 22.
Well now that you fully gave a bio on Hakeem...let me rephrase...what he did MOSTLY was dominate blocking shots and dunking the ball and yes he had a turnaround jumper...but at the end of the Dream's career we saw the FULL ARSENAL just ask David Robinson. So to say Capela has zero upside today is just as prosperous as the points you've made and yes I did see all those Slamma games including the game that gave them the NickName.
and furthermore, as heypartner's outline displayed Capela will never be the Dream but could very well be more like Mutumbo but that's just my opinion
Calvin Watkins ESPN Staff Writer In this four game win streak for the Rockets, James Harden is averaging 38.5 points and shooting 46.3 percent from the field. Marcus Thornton is averaging 16.7 points during this streak. Rockets are 4-1 when he starts.
Yup, and I hope Dream is working with him, I think we could see some good post moves with his skill set.
If you want to develop someone, I would take getting 20 minutes on a NBA contender over the DLeague any day of the week. You have no idea how much you learn by being needed by the best and playing against the best.
You're right. What we're saying is Dream didn't have his repertoire of dream shakes and post moves at that age. He worked on his game continually.
Exactly Jake. At the same time like you said we understand where Heypartner is coming from. The Dream was DA MAN and it's like trying to compare apples and oranges as we know which was my first mistake lol! At the same time, I saw peeps trying to make that comparison earlier in this thread as in "apples to apples" which to me is a serious NO NO but then again my opion only. Obviously HeyPartner sees this same way as we do with his excellent overview on the major differences early on in both their unprofessional and professional careers. We all get passionate when it comes to the Dream so all good. Heck I still CRINGE over the NC State game! At the same time Jake like ya said... the "continual development" of Capela should be a major advantage in in his favor with D12,Mchale and the Dream coaching him.
Speaking of timing will ya look at this: Clint Capela’s progress continues to materialize By Jonathan Feigen on November 8, 2015 at 3:54 PM Though often matching up with one of the league’s top centers in the paint, the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan, Rockets center Clint Capela’s crash course continued to move along well, even with Dwight Howard back after returning out the first game of the back-to-back. In 19 minutes, Capela had nine points and eight rebounds against the Clippers on Saturday. He is averaging 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds in 19 minutes per game this season. “Clint’s been fantastic for us,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “He battled in there. He got pushed out (on) one rebound, but he stood his ground more. He’s finding out, you got to hit first. You got to carve out space. You got to be big. He had a big offensive put back for us when we needed one. I couldn’t be any happier with Clint. “As I said all along, he’s still 21 (years old.) Hes still got a lot to learn. But he’s going to be a very nice player for a long time.”
