For the second night in a row, Clint Capela was huge for the Atlanta Hawks. After playing a brilliant game against the Chicago Bulls where he collected a double-double, which is something that had gone missing from his game, Capela had almost a perfect night against the Washington Wizards.
Capela’s job was made easier after the Wizards traded Montrezl Harrell away at the deadline. Then starting center Thomas Bryant picked up two fouls in the first two minutes. However, there is a difference between getting an advantage and pressing it, which is what Capela was able to do.
The Swiss pivot collected the stat line of 12 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks in just 23 minutes on the court. He would have been on there longer except the Wizards adopted the Hack-A-Clint strategy. To his credit, Capela made 2-of-4 free throws. He also went 5-of-9 from the floor which is a solid number.
What made this the perfect night for Clint Capela and the Atlanta Hawks
Well, we start on the defensive end of the floor which is Capela’s bread and butter. The three blocks and four defensive rebounds only tell part of the story. The Wizards’ guards like to penetrate the paint to see what options present themselves.
Capela was able to read this every time. When the guards got into the paint not only did they have their defender trying to stop them, they also ran into the long arms of Capela. This stunted any offensive momentum they were trying to gather.
Time and again you saw the guard having to stop, prop and pass the ball to the perimeter. However, it was not to an open man as the Hawks were able to stay home on their assignments because Capela blocked the paint up and the defense did not need to collapse.
On the offensive end of the court, Capela was not as efficient as his 5-of-5 from the Bulls game. However, he was able to generate eight rebounds at that end of the floor which gave the Hawks the extra looks that teams crave.
While his passing game has improved, Capela did not record an assist but that is really not his role, especially against a front line he can dominate like the Wizards. Moving forward the Hawks would like to see more of these games. Capela does not need to have plays run for him. He is an opportunistic scorer which benefits the team.