Tag: mexico city capitanes

Ex-Celtics forward Malik Fitts on his time with Boston, Joe Mazzulla’s elevation to coach

The master of bench celebration had plenty to say about his former ball club in a win over the Mexico City Capitanes on Sunday.

Though his time with the Boston Celtics was not long, Celtics fan favorite forward Malik Fitts cherishes his time playing with the team in the 2021-22 season. The Celtics Wire caught up with Fitts after his current squad, the Ontario Clippers (the G League affiliate of the Los Angeles team of the same name), beat the Mexico City Capitanes 103-96 on the road.

Still visibly exhausted from the win, Fitts made a point of noting how the elevation of Arena de Mexico at 7,350 feet impact his and the Clippers’ game against the Capitanes, requiring considerable effort to pull out the victory.

“It’s a tough slog here because of the elevation,” admitted Fitts. “It’s actually my first time in Mexico.”

Blue’s Adam Mokoka on OKC’s loss to Capitanes in Mexico City, Shabazz Napier’s big night

The French shooting guard also touched on the impact of elevation on the Blue’s outing, and the possibility of NBA expansion south of the border.

The OKC Blue fell to the Capitanes in Mexico City due to an offensive explosion by former UConn standout and current Capitanes guard Shabazz Napier. The Roxbury native went off for 40 points in the Capitanes’ 118-116 overtime win on Friday.

But Blue wing Adam Mokoka isn’t looking for something or someone to blame for OKC’s 21-point lead evaporating under the pressure of Napier’s assault.

“The elevation for sure is hitting us,” he explained, “but we’re not going to make excuses. I feel like they came on really hard in the third quarter — that’s when we had some trouble.”

The altitude has been a thorn in the side of teams visiting the new home arena of the Capitanes.

“We still tried to fight to the end, but (Napier) was hitting big shots, and that’s part of the game,” he added.

The game ended on a basket by Capitanes wing Caio Pacheco.

Mokoka had enjoyed his visit to the Mexican capital, which has been the renewed subject of a potential expansion team for the NBA in the not-too-distant future.

“That would be a great opportunity for Mexico to get an NBA team,” related the French shooting guard.

“They are doing pretty good with the G League team, and I like the resources, the infrastructure, and the people, and (their) energy is really great.”

Good enough to power the Capitanes to back-to-back wins in their home arena, though the Blue took Mexico City to the brink twice in a row.

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Former Luke Kornet teammate Adam Mokoka reveals the recent origin of the ‘Korntest’

Adam Mokoka, a teammate of the Celtics center’s from their time with the Chicago Bulls, revealed Kornet developed the unorthodox method recently.

Boston Celtics backup center Luke Kornet has made an impression on his teammates with his intelligence, hard work, and sense of humor around the NBA, particularly during his time with the Chicago Bulls. The Celtics Wire recently caught up with fellow Bulls alum Adam Mokoka at a G League tilt between the Oklahoma City Blue (Mokoka’s current squad) and the Capitanes in Mexico City, and the French shooting guard had plenty of good things to say about his former teammate.

“He’s a really good guy on and off of the court,” shared Mokoka. “Luke is quiet, but he’s funny and really smart.”

“He was our team captain when I was there in Chicago,” added the Blue wing.

Mokoka is aware of Kornet’s unorthodox method of trying to stymie shooters on the perimeter — the so-called eclipse, Kornet Kontest, or Korntest, as it has been various dubbed — but has not tried it himself, at least yet.

“I’ve just seen it, he wasn’t doing it in Chicago,” explained the Paris native. “I feel like if it is working, it’s pretty smart.”

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OKC Blue: Notable performances, highlights in 98-95 loss to G League’s Mexico City Capitanes

A quick recap of the OKC Blue’s loss in Mexico on Thursday.

The OKC Blue, the Oklahoma City Thunder affiliate, were unable to steal a road win against the Mexico City Capitanes in a 98-95 loss in G League action on Thursday.

The Blue is 2-2 on the season. Let’s take a look at notable performances from the game:

Robert Woodard II: 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, 13 rebounds

Ryan Woolridge: 18 points, six rebounds

DJ Wilson: 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting

Gary Clark: 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, 5-of-7 from 3, 10 rebounds

Shabazz Napier: 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting, 4-of-7 from 3, six assists

Kenneth Faried: 12 points, 14 rebounds

Here are the full highlights from the close three-point loss for the Blue:

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Traded for KD, ex-Nets guard Shabazz Napier might have done the same in GM Sean Marks’ shoes

Even with the vibes having been better and the wins comparable, Napier might have made the same choice if it were his job to do so.

If there’s anyone whose opinion on the Brooklyn Nets breaking up the hardworking, fun team that manager Sean Marks managed to assemble under the leadership of head coach Kenny Atkinson is worth consulting in light of the team’s turbulent end to last season leaking into the present one, it’s veteran point guard Shabazz Napier’s.

The former UConn standout was of course part of the package getting sent to the Golden State Warriors to bring Durant to the Nets in 2019, so Napier had a front-row seat to how the team was before his exit as part of that sea change.

But if you asked the man himself if he’d have pulled the trigger on that deal in light of the team’s 5-7 start to this season among the many other distractions following the team around like a dark cloud, you might be surprised by his answer to this very question in a recent interview with the Nets Wire.

Vipers’ Eron Gordon, Trhae Mitchell face off vs. Rockets alum Bruno Caboclo in Capitanes’ Mexico City home opener

It was an unofficial Rio Grande Valley reunion as Houston’s G League squad traveled to Mexico City’s first-ever home opener south of the border.

The G League now plays games south of the Rio Grande with Mexico City’s Capitanes hosting the Houston Rockets‘ G League affiliate for their first home game since joining the G League. Last season the franchise played in the Dallas-Fort Worth area due to the pandemic.

The contest was something of a reunion for Rockets past and present. Former Houston forward Bruno Caboclo — now signed to Mexico City’s roster — facing Rio Grande Valley Vipers Eron Gordon and Trhae Mitchell.

The Rockets Wire caught up with all three to talk about their experience playing in Mexico, the unique qualities of playing in the high-altitude city, and their impressions about the historic event for our neighbors south of the border.

Traded to the Rockets from the Memphis Grizzlies in 2020, Caboclo found himself waived by Houston less than a year later, spending a season overseas playing for French club Limoges in the LNB Pro-A league and for the Brazilian National Team.

Boston native Shabazz Napier on the Celtics, friendship with Kemba Walker, Noah Vonleh

The UConn champ opened up about his fandom for Boston sports while making a return bid with the Mexico City Capitanes.

Roxbury native Shabazz Napier is a New England sports fan, growing up rooting for the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins, and of course the Boston Celtics while growing up in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood.

And while he stayed relatively local when he elected to play his college ball for the University of Connecticut Huskies in Storrs roughly two hours to the south where he helped win two NCAA titles, his pro career has taken him quite literally around the world if not back to Boston — at least yet. As is the case now, the team has usually been flush with guards, and his floor generalship has instead taken him to other teams.

Now playing for the G League’s Mexico City Capitanes along former No. 3 pick Jahlil Okafor and Celtics camp invitee Bruno Caboclo, Napier is following an increasingly popular path for players looking to get back in the league.

Celtics camp invitee Bruno Caboclo on Boston’s offseason, plans for 2022-23

The Brazilian big man revealed a certain former No. 3 pick was an unreported early participant in the Celtics’ training camp. as well

Many fans of the Boston Celtics were excited by the news of Brazilian forward Bruno Caboclo joining the team in the offseason on a training camp deal, hopeful the Osasco native might make the team as a potential depth option. Ultimately, the team would go in a different direction to solidify their roster for the 2022-23 NBA season, but it might not be the last time you hear Caboclo’s name connected to the Celtics.

Currently playing for the G League’s Mexico City Capitanes, the 6-foot-9 combo forward hopes to leverage a resurgent interest in big men in the league and his positional flexibility to find his way back to the NBA, whether with Boston or some other ball club.

Ahead of his season opener on Nov. 6 with the Capitanes, the Celtics Wire caught up with Caboclo to talk about his time in Boston, what brought him to Mexico, and more.

Former 76ers No. 3 pick Jahlil Okafor opens up about Colangelo scandal, bid to return to NBA

Playing for the G League’s Mexico City Capitanes, Okafor reflected on his time in Philly.

The evolution of the game away from bigs who feasted in the paint and toward small ball taking off at almost exactly the moment former Philadelphia 76ers No. 3 pick Jahlil Okafor came into the league did the Duke alumnus no favors.

But it probably did not help Okafor’s career that his team’s general manager at the time, Bryan Colangelo, found himself embroiled in scandal once it was revealed Colangelo had been using a secret Twitter account to attack him, fellow Sixers big man Joel Embiid, and the prior Philadelphia GM Sam Hinkie, either. After the scandal fallout created an untenable situation, the 76ers dealt him to the Brooklyn Nets.

While it might not have seemed like it at the time, it helped set in motion the path that ultimately saw Okafor’s opportunities diminish as the league’s style of play underwent a tectonic shift.

Former 76ers top pick Jahlil Okafor talks on his friendship with Jayson Tatum, efforts to return to the NBA

Could the former Sixers center be a potential option for Boston if their current depth bigs don’t work out?

“This is a part of Mexico that I’d never even imagined,” said the former No. 3 pick of the 2015 NBA draft as we sat on the sidelines of an Olympic training gymnasium just outside of the upscale Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City. The Celtics Wire made the trip to see the Mexican metropolis’ G League team practice as a member of the Capitanes, the NBA’s only development league affiliate based outside the US or Canada.

The event was a first for the organization since relocating back to the country it calls home, having played the season prior — its first in the G League — in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas. Speaking with us was said 2015 No. 3 pick Jahlil Okafor, who had signed with the team for their 2022-23 campaign with the hopes of finding his way back to the NBA.

“The one obvious goal is to make it back to the NBA,” explained Okafor. “But while I’m here, I’m trying to get better each and every day.”