Capela still on track to return 4-6 weeks following leg injury
Rockets center Clint Capela remains on schedule to return four to six weeks after going out with a fractured left fibula, but he has made significant progress in workouts with a move from the gravity-controlled treadmill to the court.
Capela was injured Dec. 17 in Minnesota and is scheduled to be examined again next week.
“I feel good,” he said. “My legs feel good. My quickness, I can run, stuff like that. Right now, I just take it day-after-day working out. I’m on schedule for four to six weeks, like they said before. My workout is getting better, really better. I’m on the court right now. Did pretty great. I’m going to have to keep going. I’m going to keep doing that way and see this next week how it goes.
“Of course I have another couple weeks doing what I’m doing. I’m focused on that. I’m really excited.”
With Capela stepping up to daily on-court workouts his return will largely depend on how he responds to the extra work. The Rockets are 10-2 in the games Capela had missed after Tuesday’s
victory against the Charlotte Hornets.
“Of course, it’s tough to be patient,” Capela said. “I’m excited. My team is playing really very good, really great. I really can’t wait to get back with them.”
Beverley playing through pain
Rockets guard Pat Beverley said his sprained right wrist feels no better than when he returned a week ago, but he has been able to shoot through the pain in games with the
help of just some tape.
“I can’t shoot a ball without my adrenaline in games or excitement for the game,” said Beverley, who made 13 of 21 shots in his first three games back from the injury but was 2-of-10 Tuesday. “I haven’t shot a ball in practice for the past four or five days.”
The Rockets’ crowded schedule — Tuesday’s game was his fourth in six days since he returned and is part of a back-toback — has not allowed much time for rest. Not much is coming, with the Rockets playing their one set of four games in five nights on Jan. 17-21.
“It’s kind of like a sprained ankle,” Beverley said. “It takes a little time. If you’re playing on it, it takes a little more time. You have to roll with the punches. I won’t use that as an excuse for anything. I go out there and play ball. Whatever happens, happens.”
McDaniels shows Clemson pride
Rockets guard K.J. McDaniels on Tuesday made his way through the Toyota Center hallway happily repeating the mantra “Clemson, baby. Clemson, baby.”
McDaniels, a former Clemson player who is from Alabama, had missed much of Monday’s first half of Clemson’s national championship win against Alabama while shooting at Toyota Center. But he saw the second half and was still thrilled when he arrived back to Toyota Center on Tuesday night.
“I watched the second half when it was important, and they pulled through,” McDaniels said. “It was a good win, good win for the program. Bama won last year, so I felt Clemson would win this year. DeShaun (Watson) did a great job, leading the team, everything.”