ADVANCED RUNS
Ex-skier Capela ready for intense workload at center as defensive captain
Like most masters of the Swiss Alps, or at least those who could call those slopes home, Clint Capela learned early the rule of downhill skiing. He decided where he was going to go and was certain he would get there fast. • Then he discovered basketball. He was 13 years old. His athletic interests had been limited to soccer and skiing. He was immediately hooked, but the same rule applied. • Capela had barely touched a basketball when he decided where he wanted it to take him, and he was determined to get there fast.
The plan was simple. Two years playing in Switzerland to improve enough to move to Paris, two years in Paris to catch the eye of scouts, two years of playing professionally in France and then on to the NBA.
After two seasons as Dwight Howard’s backup, he is the likely Rockets starter. And as always, Capela, 22, had no intention of slowing progress.
“I feel like I am really prepared for this and I’m ready to start,” Capela said. “It’s going to be a real good challenge for me. I did really good the last practices. I just can’t wait to see what I’m going to do in the regular season. If I’m doing good, I think the team is going to be doing good, too. And right now, I’m doing good.”
The Rockets have grown accustomed to his accelerated timetable, unsure if he can continue to progress as rapidly as he has but determined to find out.
Must take a big step forward
As much as the Rockets have praised the play of Nene, their other center, through the first week of camp, when general manager Daryl Morey was asked about the importance of Capela’s continued development, he started by citing the team’s goals, knowing how essential Capela’s growth could be to the season.
“For us to have the season we hope to have, which is to get home court in the Western Conference and to make a deep playoff run and hopefully get deeper than I’ve ever been in my career, Clint is going to have to take a big step forward,” Morey said. “And it’s not an easy step to go from 15 to 20 minutes against often not the starting center to playing 25 plus minutes against frontline guys. That’s a big step forward. It takes a big toll on your body to do that night in, night out.
“He’s added a lot of muscle. He’s worked extremely hard over the last two years in the offseason. He’s someone that can take that step forward. That’s something we’re going to need … especially on the defensive side of the ball.”
Huge strides in stamina
Capela has added 30 pounds to his 6-10 frame since he was drafted, now carrying 252 pounds with so little difficulty he said the greatest improvement physically has been to his endurance.
“His stamina is much better than we thought,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “I was a little worried about it this summer. Everybody said he has a little tank; not so far. He’s running up and down. He’s pushing through when he gets tired. He’s building up a reservoir of strength and energy. I think he’s ready.”
That is a significant start, but Capela will likely assume much more responsibility than bringing last season’s energy for much more than last season’s 19.1 minutes per game. He has demon- strated good pick-and-roll chemistry with James Harden, making 68.4 percent of his shots when getting the ball as the roll man. But he will face stronger lineups and for longer than he has before.
“He’s been progressing really well so far,” said assistant coach Roy Rogers, who worked with Rockets big men. “You look at Clint, just his growth in the league, has been tremendous. But now, we’re looking for bigger stuff.
“We’re looking for him to be the captain of our defense because he’s actually back there. He sees everything happen in front of him. We need his communication to be better. Those are things we’ve been working on early in the preseason. We expect Clint to get better at them as the season rolls along.”
Wants to be an All-Star
Capela expects at least that much. He also knows how important he could be. Rogers not surprisingly described Capela as “impatient.” But Capela has longterm goals, even if long term for him has never taken long.
“I definitely want to be an AllStar whenever I am my best in my career,” he said. “I want to be … consistent with what I’m doing so that my teammates every night can count on me.”
He understands why Morey so quickly tied the Rockets’ goals to his play.
“Now that my minutes are going to increase, my play is going to influence more on the team’s winning, of course,” Capela said. “This is what we do. This is basketball. It’s not really pressure. I just try to enjoy it and give the best that I can.”
That has worked. He has made up for being so far from home — he went back to Geneva for three weeks after the season — by having friends and family in town through the season. The ski slopes will have to wait.
“I miss that,” Capela said. “Maybe I’ll start again whenever I retire. I was good. I think I will do it again one day, but not now.”