Houston Rockets are facing another setback in their climb to the top of the Western Conference, with their starting center Clint Capela now out due to a thumb injury. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Capela had an MRI on Monday the team believes he will have to sit between four and six weeks.
Clint Capela’s injury now means that Houston are now without three out of their four most important players since point guard Chris Paul and sixth-man Eric Gordon are sidelined for some time now. But, the good news for the Rockets, however, is that both Paul and Gordon might be back on the court next week.
Still, replacing Capela will certainly be a challenging task for coach Mike D’Antoni. The big man from Switzerland had a tremendous season so far, averaging 17.6 points, 12.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. Nene Hilario is now expected to be inserted into the starting lineup while reserves Isaiah Hartenstein and Marquese Chriss should also get extended minutes.
Despite all the troubles they faced this season, Houston Rockets bounced back in the last couple of weeks, managing to win out nine out of 12 last games. This was mostly thanks to the miraculous play from reigning MVP James Harden, who is on a historic offensive run managing to score 30+ points in the last 17 games. By doing so, Harden broke the record previously held by Los Angeles Lakers’ legend Kobe Bryant, who had 16 consecutive games where he scored 30 or more.
