By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Clint Capela finished the opening round of the NBA Playoffs with four double-doubles, all of them combined with the Houston Rockets’ wins against the Utah Jazz. After finishing their opponents in five games, the Texans will either take on the Golden State Warriors or the Los Angeles Clippers, but the Swiss center has a preference on the Western Conference Semifinals matchup: “I want to face the Warriors.”
The Warriors are up 3-2 against the Clippers and will have the home-court advantage if they ultimately advance. If Doc Rivers’ side pulls off two more victories in Game 6 and Game 7, then the Rockets will start the next round at home. However, Capela wants another crack at the defending champions: “We’ve been working all year long. If you want to be the champion you have to beat the champions.”
Capela faced the Warriors in three out of his four postseason runs up to the current season. In 2015 and 2016 the Rockets were eliminated in five games, while last year the Californian team needed seven games to go through their opponents and move on to the NBA Finals. The three meetings were either part of the opening round or the Western Conference Finals, so a Western Conference Semifinal matchup versus the Warriors would be a first for the 24-year-old center.
In Game 5 against the Jazz, Capela scored 16 points and grabbed ten boards for the double-double, also tallied three blocks and two dimes in 36 minutes recovering from the respiratory illness he faced the past days. “I feel a lot better. I definitely feel like another person than the last game” he said.
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