By Dionysis Aravantinos / info@eurohoops.net
After defeating the Utah Jazz in Game 5 at Houston, the Rockets are in the Western Conference Finals where they will face off the defending champions, Golden State Warriors.
Chris Paul, James Harden, and Clint Capela have created a perfect ‘Big 3’ that could challenge Steve Kerr’s team. While James Harden is quite possibly the 2017-2018 MVP and Chris Paul is one of the best playmakers in the association, Clint Capela has also been very effective for Mike D’Antoni’s squad.
In the playoffs, Capela is putting up impressive numbers, as he is averaging 14.4 points (63.4% FG), 12.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. The Golden State Warriors do not have a ‘big’ that could keep up with Capela especially on the glass and that’s a huge advantage for the Rockets. Besides, the swiss-international is also a great rim protector and thus will have a huge impact defensively for the Rockets.
Going up against possibly the 2017-2018 defensive player of the year in Rudy Gobert, Capela had a great series, especially defensively for the Texas team. He averaged 13.0 points, 10.2 rebounds but most importantly an impressive 3.6 blocks per game, outplaying his opponent.
In Game 4 at Utah, Capela celebrated one of his six blocks as Dikembe Mutombo used to do. After the game, he said the following: “I am a big fan of Mutombo. This was a tribute to his famous ‘not in my house’ celebration. I’m having fun on the court.”
The conference finals start on Monday, and if Capela plays like Mutombo, the Houston Rockets have a legit chance of advancing to the NBA Finals.
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