The Houston Rockets have won 10 games in a row, and in that stretch of time a Mike D’Antoni team has been the second best defense in the NBA. Seriously. On the season the Rockets have risen to 14th in the league in defense — ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Big man Clint Capela has been a big part of the Rockets’ success — he’s an improving rim protector — but it looks like the team will be without him for a while. A report out of L’Equipe, the very respected French sports publication (remember, Capela is Swiss and has connections to France), says the Rockets’ center has a fractured fibula and will be out for several weeks at least while that heals.
From Hunter Atkins of the Houston Chronicle:In the Rockets’ 111-109 win over the Timberwolves on Dec. 17, Capela left the game early in the second half after banging knees with Karl-Anthony Towns.
Coach Mike D’Antoni said on Monday that Capela will miss Tuesday’s game against the Spurs and was getting an MRI. The Rockets have not released any information about the results.
Most likely the delay in the team making it official is a second MRI or test. It will come.
Capela is averaging 11.8 points and 8 rebounds a game. Expect to see more Nene Hilario and Montrezl Harrell at the five. Also, this is D’Antoni we’re talking about, so expect him to experiment with smaller lineups that have more shooting (Ryan Anderson at the five anyone?).