Clint Capela is a fine basketball player. He really fits the new era Centers in the league. A defensive center who can rebound really well. However, in order to go from starter to star, it is an absolute must that he gets better offensively. Clint Capela’s range offensively is mainly just dunking, at least where he is effective
Clint Capela Stats
Clint Capela’s stats from last year haven’t really improved this year. However, his defensive presence is still as big as ever. Which definitely helps the Rockets’ defensive woes. But this article doesn’t pertain to that. He is averaging 14.6 PPG on 64.3% shooting, 14.4 RPG, and 1.8 BPG. 14 points a game isn’t bad, but he is limited offensively. From 0-3 feet from the basket, Capela has a good 73.9% FG percentage, However, from 3-10 feet, his FG% significantly drops to 37%. That is awful. The number of attempts that are dunks from his total shots is 33.3%. Not exactly a wide range of an offensive skill set. From that 33.3%, 80.4% of those dunks are from assists. Meaning he is already in a position to dunk or catching lobs. Other than dunking the ball, Clint Capela is a liability on offense.
As mentioned before, the question here isn’t if Clint Capela is a good player, because he is a great defensive player. But if the Rockets are looking to be better, Clint Capela needs to better offensively. With his limited offensive skill set, he doesn’t space the floor. While James Harden will be fine because he can shoot outside decently well. Opening up the floor for Russell Westbrook will help James Harden and of course Russell Westbrook. Russ is not the best at shooting outer mid-range shots or 3 point shots. He is at his best when he can drive to the rim for the contested layup or dish it to the outside. It’s hard to do that with Capela just chillin’ in the paint.
With no offensive range, no one worries about him making a shot outside the paint. Therefore, when he does step out of the paint, defenses don’t really focus on him and it still leaves the paint congested. If the Rockets want even a shot at the championship, Clint Capela expanding his offensive skill set would be a great start.
