Capela passes every test
Center expected to return Thursday from thumb injury
LOS ANGELES — This week’s Rockets practices were to be the final examinations, the chances for center Clint Capela to measure his readiness to return after missing 15 games following thumb surgery. But he believes the tests had already been passed.
He competed during the AllStar break, battling for position and through workouts with 7-foot rookie teammate Isaiah Hartenstein. He caught passes lobbed high and fired low. He took untold numbers of jump hooks and free throws.
Then it was time for the toughest, and most revealing, test of all.
He had P.J. Tucker deliver his most exuberant — meaning violent — of high-fives. After that, catching a passed basketball should be no problem.
“Actually, today, the trainers and everybody, I was practicing saying hi with my right hand and, when I get excited, shaking guys
with my right hand,” Capela said Tuesday. “It’s been really great.
“I feel ready to be back with the team. I’m going to have two practices. I should be ready to go. I feel ready to go. I played a couple times now. It felt great. So I’m ready.”
With Capela’s expected return Thursday against the Lakers, the Rockets would have their planned starting lineup of Capela, Tucker, Eric Gordon, Chris Paul and James Harden in place for just the sixth time all season, believing the 5-1 record when they start together could indicate what is possible in the final 25 games.
Fixing weaknesses
The Rockets went 9-6 without Capela. But as much as the return from the break offers a fresh start, the Rockets hope getting him in the lineup will allow them to shore up shortcomings and finally set a rotation.
“He looks good,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He’s on target. I think he’s good to go. I mean, it’s his hand. He should be in pretty good shape.”
As much as Kenneth Faried produced in Capela’s place and will be expected to still help off the bench, the Rockets need to improve in two of Capela’s specialties: defense and rebounding.
The Rockets were outrebounded in 13 of the 15 games Capela missed and were topped by an average of 8.3 boards per game over that span. They had been outrebounded by an average of 1.2 rebounds in the 42 games before Capela’s injury.
But even before Capela went out, they were 26th in defensive rating and 28th in defensive rebounding percentage. The hope is that with Capela’s return, a full rotation and a chance at last to settle on roles and playing time, the Rockets will not only add their starting center but become better than they were when he went out.
“Of course (that) I’m back is hopefully going to help,” Capela said. “We still have to get better rebounding the ball, defensively, and be more focused against teams we should beat. I think to have the full squad is going to help. We still have some work to do on defense and rebounding.”
He seemed entirely unconcerned with his own readiness to bring all he had before the injury, when he was averaging career highs in scoring (17.6 points per game), rebounding (12.6) and assists (1.5) while making 63.1 percent of his shots.
Capela said he will practice with a wrap on his thumb and might play Thursday’s game with it, but he said it does not impact him at all, even when catching passes, a key to his success while running the pick-and-roll with Harden.
“It’s been really great. No problem with it,” Capela said. “I feel that I’m at capacity about catching the ball and finishing. I’m very happy about it. I did a good job about the drills I have to do, about the drills the trainers gave me. I focused on them. This is why I’m able to play now.”
He said he also played one-on-one with Hartenstein enough to feel “great about it, so now I’m ready to go.”
Don’t expect too much
If Capela can pick up where he left off when he was hurt in Orlando, the Rockets have reason to believe they can build something they could not with Harden, Paul and Capela not playing together since Dec. 20. But this time, D’Antoni said, they have learned enough from when players have come back from injuries throughout the season not to assume all is well just from seeing Capela catch a hard pass or handle a harder high-five.
“Surely we can all read the standings and know we can’t do that,” D’Antoni said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t have some bumps still, getting these people back in, getting Clint back in. I don’t know what our record is with the three guys together (15-8 this season and 42-3 last season with Paul, Harden and Capela all playing). I just know we’re pretty good.”