A night after posting 22 points and 22 rebounds in a win at Atlanta, starting center Clint Capela never seemed to have the same energy in Thursday’s blowout loss by the Houston Rockets in Oklahoma City.
Facing off against veteran big man Steven Adams, Capela had eight points (3-of-8 shooting) and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes, while Adams had 15 points (6-of-8 FG) and 8 rebounds in 25 minutes. Overall, the Thunder outrebounded the Rockets, 52-39 — even though Oklahoma City entered the game as one of the league’s worst rebounding teams.
Though Adams did play well, it seems there may have been another reason for Capela’s regression from the prior game. According to head coach Mike D’Antoni, the 25-year-old still isn’t over the right heel contusion that cost him two games in late December.
Moreover, because of that issue, Capela’s status is uncertain for the team’s next game on Saturday at home versus Minnesota (15-22).
This is the tough part of the schedule. We’ve got a couple guys banged up a little bit.
Clint has his foot issue. We’ll see Saturday if he can go or not. But it’s been lingering, and he can’t quite get it well yet. So we’ll see.
Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni, citing Clint Capela's lingering heel issue, said he is unsure if Capela would play Saturday against the Timberwolves.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) January 10, 2020
Reserve guard Eric Gordon also missed Thursday’s loss with right knee soreness, which D’Antoni had said was “nothing out of the ordinary” coming off knee surgery and an extended layoff of more than six weeks.
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Saturday afternoon’s matinee will be the third game in less than four days for the Rockets (25-12), which may make it difficult to push the envelope on any player with a nagging injury. If Capela was to sit Saturday, he could get nearly a full week of rest in total between Wednesday’s outing in Atlanta and the team’s following game next Tuesday in Memphis.
Even while dealing with the lingering heel issue, Capela has had several strong games — including Wednesday’s showing in Atlanta and a career night with 30 points and 14 rebounds against All-Star big man Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers in a victory last Friday.
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But it seems the Swiss big man may not be able to fully shake the injury without a more extended period of rest. If Capela sits out Saturday, 21-year-old seven-footer Isaiah Hartenstein would likely start in his place.
Though the Rockets are not practicing Friday, they will issue an injury report during the day — which could include the next update of Capela’s status for Saturday’s early game.
Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. Central from Toyota Center in Houston.
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