Tag: Bruno Caboclo

Bruno Caboclo returns to Rockets more confident in playing center

The Rockets re-acquired Bruno Caboclo via trade, and he says he’s more ready to play center now than during his last stint in Houston.

With an athletic 6-foot-9 frame and 7-foot-7 wingspan, Bruno Caboclo always had the tools to be an effective option at center in the NBA, particularly given the modern emphasis on speed and floor spacing.

Entering his second stint in Houston after a deadline day trade, it seems the 24-year-old now has the confidence and experience, too.

“It’s an amazing opportunity for me,” Caboclo said Sunday at Toyota Center, where Houston had its first home game since the trade. He’s currently out with a bruised knee, but is expected to be available after the All-Star break, which begins for Houston after Tuesday’s game.

“I’m very happy, very excited,” Caboclo said of his return to the Rockets. “It feels like it was just yesterday that I was here.”

When Caboclo was picked in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft at just 18 years old, he was a raw and largely undeveloped prospect out of Brazil. Based on his weight, he was initially slotted as a small forward by the Toronto Raptors, his original organization.

Even upon signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Rockets before the 2018-19 season and playing several months with Houston’s G League affiliate, he wasn’t quite ready for the rigors of defending NBA big men — or at least not on a title contender, such as the Rockets.

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But Caboclo got his first extended look when the then-rebuilding Grizzlies signed him to an NBA contract in January 2019. In 34 games with Memphis late last season, Caboclo averaged 8.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game, and he shot 36.9% from 3-point range.

“Last year, they gave me an opportunity,” Caboclo said of his time in Memphis. “I felt I could play in the NBA, and that gave me a lot of confidence. From there, I just keep building.”

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Perhaps most importantly for the undersized Rockets, who are putting a premium on floor spacing and defensive versatility, Caboclo also got a taste of life as a frontcourt player. Now at 218 pounds, he’s steadily added bulk over six seasons after entering the NBA at just 200 pounds, and that physical development appears to be paying off.

“Now I’ll be playing center, so I’ve got to get used to it,” Caboclo said.

According to Basketball Reference estimates, Caboclo played 87% of his NBA minutes during his first three seasons in Toronto at small forward or shooting guard. By contrast, over parts of two seasons in Memphis, more than 70% of his minutes came at power forward or center.

Regarding the transition, Caboclo explains:

Since I’ve been here, I’ve learned so much. My body has changed, too. I learned a lot more stuff about basketball, and I’m just going to keep learning.

I learned more stuff about playing as a center. Now I can see, when I watch the games, I just keep watching the bigs who play my position. How they score, how they get their points, how they screen, and stuff like that. And I bring it to my game.

Caboclo’s minutes have dropped from 23.5 per game last season to 8.7 this season, partly due to injury and also because Memphis added to its frontcourt in the offseason with rookie Brandon Clarke and veteran Jae Crowder. That made minutes harder to come by. But at 24 years old, there’s no reason to think that his skills have eroded.

“I’m very long, so I can help on defense,” Caboclo said. “And offense, too. I can help open the court with speed.”

In Houston, where head coach Mike D’Antoni doesn’t have a traditional center after the larger deadline trade of Clint Capela for Robert Covington, that length could be especially important. The Rockets are now starting 6-foot-5 P.J. Tucker at center, and the tallest player in their current rotation is the 6-foot-7 Covington.

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If Caboclo can earn D’Antoni’s trust, he’d instantly be Houston’s longest player, with a unique skillset for the Rockets of being able to both score at the rim on offense and help defend it on defense.

D’Antoni wasn’t ready to commit to Caboclo as a rotation player just yet, suggesting it will largely depend on his defense in Houston’s switch-heavy scheme. But it does seem that he’ll get a chance, once healthy.

When asked Sunday whether Caboclo could be an option (once healthy) for the Rockets at center, D’Antoni said:

I don’t even know if we have centers anymore. He’s a player. He can give you the vertical spacing. He shoots threes, runs the floor. Can he guard well enough? I don’t know yet. We’ll have to see how he came back. He has more experience now than when he was here, and he’s got a lot of talent. So it’s good to try. We’ll see. I’m not committed one way or the other. Hopefully he’ll find time and get comfortable, but you don’t know.

Caboclo will remain unavailable for at least one more game, when Houston finishes up play before the All-Star break with Tuesday’s home matchup vs. Boston. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. from Toyota Center.

From there, the Rockets return to action on Thursday, Feb. 20 at Golden State, and Caboclo’s minutes could be a storyline to watch down the stretch of the 2019-20 regular season for a team that is currently devoid of frontcourt size and vertical spacing.

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Daryl Morey to Clint Capela: ‘We watched you grow into a lion’

In a tribute post on Instagram, Rockets GM Daryl Morey thanked former center Clint Capela for his five-plus seasons in Houston.

The Houston Rockets made a pair of trades for long forwards before the NBA’s 2019-20 trade deadline, bringing in Robert Covington from Minnesota and Bruno Caboclo from Memphis.

But as part of those deals, the Rockets sent out 25-year-old big man Clint Capela ⁠— who was the second-longest tenured player on the Houston roster, trailing only franchise centerpiece James Harden.

So while there’s excitement for the looming debut of Covington on Thursday night, there are clearly mixed emotions from many around the Rockets about seeing their longtime starting center depart.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey, who selected Capela in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft and ultimately made the final call this week on the deal sending Capela to Atlanta, took to Instagram on Thursday to thank Capela for his five-plus years of service to the organization.

Morey wrote:

We watched you grow into a lion. Thank you, Clint.

Veteran guard Eric Gordon, who has played alongside Capela since signing in Houston before the 2016-17 season, seemed to express his emotions with one sad emoji shortly after the trade was announced.

To Morey’s point, in Capela’s 2014-15 rookie campaign, the Swiss big man played in just 12 regular-season NBA games. He averaged 2.7 points (48.3% shooting) and 2.2 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game, usually in mop-up duty, and spent most of the year in the G League.

This year, the 6-foot-10 Capela has averaged 13.9 points (62.9% shooting) and 13.8 rebounds in 32.8 minutes per game, with that rebounding total ranking fourth in the entire league.

However, the Rockets seem to believe wing defense and floor spacing for their All-Star backcourt of former MVPs (Harden and Russell Westbrook) are more important to their 2019-20 title chances than Capela’s traditional big man values of size, rebounding, and rim protection.

In comments to the Houston Chronicle‘s Jonathan Feigen, Morey explains why he believes the changes boost their championship odds:

Pretty straight forward. The best way to play with our stars that we feel is the one that gives us the best chance to win the championship is with a stretch four, playing up-tempo, shooting, and wing defenders. Robert Covington was for sure the best one available.

Veteran forward P.J. Tucker slides to Capela’s former role as the starting center. The Rockets are 10-1 in games without Capela this season, including a 4-0 run over the last 10 days with Tucker at center. Meanwhile, Covington will take many of the vacated minutes at power forward.

There were reports this week suggesting that in addition to the Covington and Cabaclo acquisitions, the Rockets aimed to also bring in a more traditional center to help replace Capela’s size.

But that type of deal did not transpire by Thursday’s trade deadline, meaning that Morey will probably have to turn to the upcoming buyout market if the Rockets are to address that need. At 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-7 wingspan, Cabaclo could potentially play minutes at center, though he’s likely out until after the All-Star break with a bone bruise in his left knee.

As for Covington and the current roster’s healthy players, the Rockets (32-18) will debut their new-look lineup Thursday in Los Angeles versus the Lakers (38-11), who have the West’s best record. Tip-off is at 9:30 p.m. Central time, with the game broadcast nationally on TNT.

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Rockets trade Jordan Bell to Memphis for Bruno Caboclo

Only hours after acquiring him, the Rockets traded Jordan Bell to Memphis for forward Bruno Caboclo, known best for his 7-foot-7 wingspan.

Late Wednesday night, the Houston Rockets formally acquired big man Jordan Bell from Minnesota as part of the massive four-team trade that landed defensive ace Robert Covington.

By Thursday morning, Bell already had a new destination.

In news broken by ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Rockets traded Bell to Memphis for 24-year-old forward Bruno Caboclo. The deal also includes a pick-swap right on 2023 second-round selections.

Caboclo has played only sparingly for Memphis this season at 8.7 minutes per game over 22 outings. But in 2018-19, the athletic, lanky forward was a valued contributor with averages of 8.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game, all while shooting 36.9% on 3-pointers.

Caboclo is 6-foot-9 and 218 pounds, but his wingspan is extremely long at 7-foot-7 — which is likely a big part of his appeal to the Rockets. Like Covington, he’s another versatile option that head coach Mike D’Antoni could utilize to improve his team’s perimeter defense.

Through the 2019-20 season’s first 50 games, the Rockets (32-18) rank No. 3 in the NBA in offensive rating, but No. 15 on defense.

According to Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic, the Rockets and GM Daryl Morey had targeted Caboclo for several weeks.

At the moment, Caboclo is not available to play due to a bone bruise in his left knee. However, as Bijani notes, he could return within approximately one to three weeks, based on the original timetable.

Thursday’s NBA trade deadline arrives at 2 p.m. Central time in Houston, and Morey might not be done. According to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, the Rockets are still in talks regarding further deals, including possibly adding a center to help replace Clint Capela.

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