Positive Capela adds range
Success from free-throw line, field grows game, keeps center on floor
John Lucas told Rockets center Clint Capela this day was coming.
They had spent long hours working on Capela’s free throws and jumpers each morning before Capela moved on to sessions each evening with assistant coach Roy Rogers to work on his footwork and form around the rim.
They had spoken of the day Capela would add elbow and baseline jumpers to his game the way Memphis’ Marc Gasol, his opponent Saturday, had on his way to the 3-point line.
First, Lucas said, a team will intentionally send him to the line. A win the Rockets had in their grasp would be in his hands.
That day came Saturday when the Grizzlies fouled Capela on five consecutive possessions. When Capela sank eight of his 10 free throws, he not only foiled the plan and sealed the 123-
108 win, he gave himself a reason to believe Lucas’ plans could work out, too.
“The sky’s the limit,” Lucas said. “At 22, he’s just beginning to find himself. There’s so much basketball ahead of him. We work on things, but now it’s about competition and reps.
“But in the short term, I was so proud of him getting fouled. We talked about that being a playoff strategy people might use. Him knocking those down gave him more confidence.”
It should provide confidence for the next time an opposing coach wants to test Capela at the line, ignoring his 68.2 percent free-throw shooting since the start of February.
D’Antoni lauds effort
It could allow coach Mike D’Antoni to keep Capela on the floor Monday in San Antonio, as he did not early in the season when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich went to a hack-a-Cap.
“I think it shows the maturity of where his game is,” D’Antoni said. “We wouldn’t have left him in there for sure at the start of the year. Now, we’re scoring two points every time. He’s worked. He deserves it. Not only that, I think his whole game has improved a lot. He’s playing really well.”
More than that, Capela’s improvement at the line reinforces his belief he could live up to Lucas’ grander expectations.
“I really want to get there,” Capela said hours before his career-high 24 points Saturday. “It’s not that I don’t want to put the work in. I want to get there, so I try to make sure I will always be the last with Luke. Step by step, always keep that motivation.”
Capela, a 6-10 center, said a game against Gasol offered inspiration that his shot could improve too, with a night Monday against Pau Gasol bringing a reminder big men can add 3-point range through their career.
Told he could aspire to be the Swiss Gasol brother, Capela said: “Maybe. Why not? It motivates me whenever I see (Marc) Gasol.
“His first six, seven years in the NBA, he never shot a 3. After seven years, he started to be a shooter at 39 percent.
“Whenever I see this kind of stuff, I know it’s all about work. It motivates me, for real.”
But Lucas insists Capela is capable of much more, and Capela believes him. When Capela saw a tweet Saturday citing his improved free-throw shooting, he retweeted it with Lucas’ twitter handle, @ JLEnterprises. So each day, they are back on the floor working on jumpers Capela does not take in games.
“This is a long-term game,” Lucas said. “Our guy is a pick-and-roller. He’s really learned how to roll. This is about his future. In a couple years, he will have 3-point range.”
Exceed expectations
While Lucas motivates and Rogers drills Capela, D’Antoni has brought the tough love to expectations. Though he will on occasion use Nene against physical centers, the offense starts with Capela and James Harden in pick-and-roll, which has led to the most dunks in the NBA.
“He’s got so much talent,” D’Antoni said. “He’s probably the guy that I get mad at the most because 24 (points) and 11 (rebounds), to me he could have 35 and 20. But that’s just how good he is. It’s not that he’s not producing. He’s producing a lot, and he’ll keep getting better.”
Capela has improved greatly, as the Grizzlies saw with every made free throw. But he is nearly as hungry for more as Lucas.
“Now, it’s my third year,” said Capela, who is second in the NBA in fieldgoal percentage (.644). “I don’t know what can happen three or four years from now, even two. That’s why I’m always working. I’m confident in what I’m doing.”