Clint Capela at PF? Or is he best suited for C only?

Chinanu isn't ready. Clint is a 22 year old starting center on what is going to prove to be a good NBA team. His lateral quickness and ability to switch and show on pick and rolls will be key to our success. Not to mention his pick and roll game.

He isn't a big minute guy until he makes a reasonable amount of free throws. I don't care what anyone says. You can't shoot 25 percent and be more than what he is currently.

 

Shocking..........

Having stamina problems too. Imagine that.

But......you know......excuses.....rose-colored glasses......next year.....

 

Capela has stamina issues. He can't shoot free throws well or much outside either. He's not a consistent rim protector though he does get some blocks (he's getting better imo but still needs work if he truly wants to be a rim protector). He could be a better rebounder.

He's not a star to build around. That said, he's still a decent player to have in the rotation and can even be a starter. That has a good amount of value.

 

He's having stamina problems because he bulked up for no reason. Bulking up doesn't automatically equate to better rebounding. I like the idea of (the old slim) Capella at the 4. The version of Capella that could keep up with Klay Thompson on the perimeter after a (dumb) switch is no more.

 

With regards to Capela at the 4, I am completely opposed to the idea in anything but short spurts. With the court spacing provided by having 2-3 shooters at the 2-4 positions,. Harden has a much easier time. If Capela plays 4, it is harder to get KJM in the game and maintain spacing that allows room for Harden and Gordon to work. The Rockets were completely inept at keeping teams from crowding the paint last year. This year, there is room because defenders are hesitant to leave guys that make 40% of their 3 pointers. Granted, there is a huge trade off of defense for offense. I prefer the Rockets make things easier for Harden.

He had stamina issues last year. I'm not sure it is a bulk thing or if it is Capela not understanding when/how to conserve energy.

 

Would only put him at the 4 for matchup purposes, so basically never with the way the league is moving.

I had/still have really high hopes for Clint, but he hit a wall last season that he still hasn't seemed to recover from. Hopefully he will improve being the starter and getting the minutes

 

Perhaps if he had a jumper, which he could develop in the future. He's got a decent release and good backspin. He just has zero depth perception it seems, lol.

Against big lineups it might work since NeNe can still step out and hit a 15-18 footer.

 

Here is a post by HP from another thread that shows an example of what spacing gives Harden. The spacing is so much better on PnRs as well.

 

All of this might be moot because if you see the paychecks some of these centers are getting (Steven Adams, $25,000,000 per season?!?!), then it might not be long before Morey uses Clint as his best trade chip. I like Clint Capela but he isn't the sort of player for whom Morey will break the bank....not if he can help trade for the sort of player that Morey would rather pay.

 

He's looked fine to me. Keep in mind he's faced Andrew Bogut twice already. Bogut is one of the few very physical traditional centers in the league left. Most nights Capela will face centers more cut from his own cloth in the modern NBA. He'll be fine.

His stamina is what it is. It will improve with more minutes, and his body adjusting to a full NBA season which he's never played before.

All of this doesn't even matter though because Nene makes up perfectly for Capela's faults in his young career (which WILL improve)

-Battle tested physically
-good free throw shooter
-veteran
-Can play 20 to 30 mpg easily
-can shoot a little bit from the high post
-etc.

I like the Capela/Nene combo honestly. The only thing is I wish the Rockets had a little better "true center" 3rd stringer if/when Nene gets injured during the season. Someone like a Chuck Hayes to step in if needed. Harrell/Onuaku have some potential but aren't reliable IMO.

 

Your post is spot on. Not a true center, but I do think DMo is about as good as you'll get as a third center (even though I'm not a big fan of his at the center).....if the Rockets ever can get him to sign.

 

Capela is playing well vs my expectations. I don't see a problem here. He's going to continue to get better for years, and he's already a fairly decent starter who clicks with our superstar.

 

I guess it's an age old question dating back to Chamberlain, but why can't coaches dictate that a player try the Granny free throw technique. Capela will not be a quality starter in this league unless he can get around 60% from the free throw line. Hell, DHoward is no longer a quality starter as long as the hack-a-whoever rules stay in tact. If he can't straiten it out trade his ass.

 

Came to post this same thing. Yes, he is getting shoved around for rebounds, and he is also simply not securing some that I'd think he could. But that said, we are talking about two games vs Bogut. And he most definitely illegally pushes for rebounding position more than most

The good side is Capela is doing something new that no one expected. His is playing the green/Bogut high post role in our 5 out motion sets. And also horns. And he looks very comfortable passing. I never thought I'd see him running DHO plays like Bogut and Green

So let's not just talk about Capela issues and points of strength and weakness that we bulletted for him in preseason, and confine our running critique to that. MDA had other plans as well, and we would be remiss to ignore those surprises.

For instance, if DMo was out high facilitating the offense like Capela, we'd all talk about, right

 

And here's a prime example of our criticism of Capela.

In one play, he has the best position you can get to both help protect the rim and/or get the defensive rebound. He fails to do either.



Of course, Gordon got backed way down and Matthews does a spin move on him, but many, many centers in the league challenge that shot, if not block it. And they'd still be in position to get that board, since it bounced their way.

 

My biggest disappointment with Capela this season so far has been his free throw shooting.

I thought he would put in work over the off season on this. I wanted him to shoot 60% from the line this season and work on eventually getting up to 68%-70% later in his career.

 

While I think Capela is very inconsistent on rim protecting and his rebounding success is less than ideal.....I can't tell for sure, but it looks like Bogut may have had a lot to do with Capela's play there.

 

I think his problem with free throws is the same of Dwight, he just feel too much pressure during the game and he chockes...hope he can improve this.

 

Yep, I posted it as criticism on purpose, to illustrate @dobro1229 point "Keep in mind he's faced Andrew Bogut twice already."

Bogut is indeed illegally, grabbing Capela's arm. I described the video as a fan would at the game ... and as all of us do which questioning Capela. I too think he's inconsistent defensively and gets shoved around, legally within the rules of the game. But Bogut goes beyond that

So, keep in mind that from the seats in the arena, and even TV, we missed Bogut grabbing his arm and shoving him on plays.