Clint Capela continues to make history with rebounding streak

Houston Rockets center Clint Capela is currently the first NBA player in over 15 seasons to grab 20+ rebounds in five consecutive games.

Friday’s nationally televised game between the Rockets and Clippers in Los Angeles is a showdown of stars, with perennial Most Valuable Player (MVP) candidates James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George capturing the most attention.

But don’t forget about Houston center Clint Capela.

The 25-year-old has a chance to make history Friday by becoming the first NBA player in nearly 25 years to grab 20 or more rebounds in six consecutive games. The last player to do that was Dennis Rodman, who had a seven-game streak beginning in February 1995.

Capela’s current streak of five games with 20+ rebounds is tied for the third-longest of any player since the 1983-84 season, which is the furthest back the NBA.com database goes. The last player to do that was Ben Wallace, who did so back in March 2003.

Within the Rockets franchise, he’s the first player with five straight 20+ rebound games since Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes in the 1970-71 season.

On Twitter and in interviews, the mild-mannered Capela is remaining humble through his historic run.

“I focus on defense, make stops,” Capela told the Houston Chronicle‘s Jonathan Feigen. “I feel when I put my energy on that part, it’s better for us. This is my main focus.”

It’s been a remarkable turnaround for Capela, who through six games was averaging just 8.0 rebounds in 26.3 minutes per game. Not coincidentally, the Rockets were a disappointing 3-3 in that stretch. In a pair of weekend losses on Nov. 1 and Nov. 3 at Brooklyn and Miami, head coach Mike D’Antoni played Capela less than 43 minutes combined. 

We also learned shortly after that stretch that Capela suffered an offseason shoulder injury with the Switzerland men’s basketball national team, which may have contributed to his slow start.

Since then, though, the Rockets (11-4) have won eight of nine games — and Capela has gone from 8.0 rebounds in 26.3 minutes to averages of 18.6 rebounds in 34.9 minutes per game. He’s also become a better shot blocker, with his blocks rising from 1.7 in the first six games to 2.6 per game over his last seven (he missed two games with a head injury).

In those first six games, the Rockets as a team ranked No. 21 in the league in total rebounds (44.0). In the nine games since, Houston has surged to 49.2 rebounds per game, which ranks third in the league and has corresponded with the uptick in their win-loss record.

As for the Clippers (10-5), they enter Friday’s game on a three-game winning streak, and they’re likely to also be out for revenge after last week’s loss in Houston. For the Rockets to compete on the road with a perceived Western Conference contender, they’ll probably need Capela to win his matchups versus Los Angeles big man such as Ivica Zubac, JaMychal Green, and Montrezl Harrell.

Then again, Capela has won the vast majority of his personal matchups over this current run — and he’s got a shot at modern history with another 20-rebound performance. That should give him ample motivation to keep the streak going.

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