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Houston Rockets center Clint Capela will miss his third game in a two-week span due to a right heel contusion, head coach Mike D’Antoni confirmed before the team’s Saturday home game versus Minnesota.
Capela had previously missed games on Dec. 28 and Dec. 29 due to the injury, and D’Antoni indicated after Thursday’s loss in Oklahoma City that the issue was lingering for his 25-year-old big man.
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Saturday afternoon’s matinee is the third game in less than four days for the Rockets (25-12), which likely made it much more challenging to push the envelope with an injury. With Capela sitting out, he’ll have nearly five days of rest before Houston’s next game on Tuesday in Memphis.
D'Antoni says the heel bothers Capela significantly on the tail end of back-to-backs. They're trying to get ahead of the problem, hoping to eest him 3-4 days to wipe out the problem. Isaiah Hartenstein will start tonight.
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) January 11, 2020
Even while dealing with the lingering heel issue, Capela has had several strong games of late — including 22 points and 22 rebounds in Wednesday’s win at Atlanta and 30 points and 14 rebounds against All-Star big man Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 3.
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For the 2019-20 season overall, Capela is averaging 14.5 points (63.8% shooting), 14.4 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in 33.5 minutes per game. That rebounding total ranks third in the NBA on a per-game basis.
Hartenstein will start at center and Eric Gordon will also be available today after missing the OKC game. https://t.co/5d36P5BOuP
— Craig Ackerman (@ca_rockets) January 11, 2020
With Capela out on Saturday, D’Antoni said the Rockets would start 21-year-old seven-footer Isaiah Hartenstein in his place. Hartenstein was impressive with averages of 14 points (72.2% FG) and 11 rebounds in 29.3 minutes per game during Capela’s two injury absences in late December.
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