Golden State Warriors: Who will guard Clint Capela?

Should the Golden State Warriors be worried about Clint Capela of the Houston Rockets?

Yeah, no. Not in the slightest.

My parents always taught me to never “count your chickens before they hatch,” but frankly, I’m pretty damn sure the Golden State Warriors are going to advance past the New Orleans Pelicans on the way to the Western Conference Finals.

On the other end of the WCF will be the Houston Rockets, led by 2018 NBA MVP James Harden. Also on the team is 13-year veteran floor general, Chris Paul, whom we all expect to make it past the second round for the first time in his career (a timeless jab).

As it stands right now, the Rockets lead their series with the Utah Jazz three games to one. Although it’s certainly possible Houston blows a 3-1 lead (which would be mildly amusing), Utah just hasn’t put up much of  a convincing fight against a considerably dominant Rockets team.

A huge part of their postseason success should be credited to Houston centerpiece, Clint Capela, who’s averaging 15.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.6 blocks on 63.6 percent shooting. In fact, he’s had so much recent success, some fans believe he could end up being an X-Factor against a probable series with the reigning NBA champions.

First off, I want to mention there were a number of different tweets I could have chosen to showcase, but a Cleveland Cavaliers fan — A Cedi Osman fan, no less — questioning how the Warriors will combat Capela? Absolute gold.

In all seriousness, though, it’s actually a fair question. My answer: no one. No one will guard Capela, because no will need to guard a guy who won’t even be on the floor.

Capela has been amazing against the Jazz, no doubt. Not only has Capela defended the paint well against a guy like Rudy Gobert, but Capela has proven himself as a vertical threat on the offensive end, as well.

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In addition, Capela did spectacular in the first round against Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves, solidifying himself as a definite up-and-comer among the NBA’s elite big men.

But that’s the thing: Capela has mostly played in the paint, protecting the rim and throwing down lobs off drive-and-dishes from Harden or Paul. While we can expect Capela to do just that when he’s up against JaVale McGee, David West or maybe even Zaza Pachulia, I highly doubt that will be the case with Draymond Green on the floor.

From Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer:

"Neither Towns nor Gobert has been willing to extend out on the perimeter on defense, which creates huge openings for Capela in the two-man game with Harden and Paul. Keeping a big man stationed at the rim and daring the ball handler to shoot off the dribble plays right into the hands of Houston’s two primary creators, since they are both deadly with the floater and pull-up jumper. As soon as the center even thinks about contesting those shots, it creates an easy lob for Capela, a smart cutter who vacuums up any pass thrown near the rim.Those plays won’t be there against Golden State, which is now starting Draymond Green at the 5. Green, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, has the speed to guard out to the 3-point line and at least contest Harden and Paul off the dribble. Instead of having their guards fight over Capela when he sets screens (the Wolves’ and Jazz’s strategy), the Warriors can just switch them and leave a smaller player on him, eliminating free runs to the rim. That won’t change even when Green is out. Golden State head coach Steve Kerr can also use Kevon Looney and Jordan Bell as small-ball 5s — as well as Kevin Durant, an approach he’s been saving for the playoffs."

There’s simply no arguing that Mike D’Antoni will opt to go small with someone like Luc Mbah a Moute or P.J. Tucker rather than risk Stephen Curry running circles and shooting threes around and over Capela.

I wouldn’t exactly rule Capela out of a switch completely, however. As we’ve seen him do against the likes of my pick for Rookie of the Year, Donovan Mitchell, Capela isn’t too shabby of a switch defender, capable of keeping uber-athletic guards like Mitchell in front of him.

Additionally, we’ve seen the Warriors have a bit of trouble stopping lob passes to Anthony Davis, whom, by the way, will still end up losing to the Dubs despite being a MUCH more skilled center than Capela.

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But if there’s one thing the Warriors proved in Game 4 against the Pelicans, it’s that they’re completely unstoppable when they’re healthy, properly motivated and, most importantly, not subject to the team’s “Strength in Numbers” mantra.

I mean, I’ll be perfectly honest: I was much more afraid of the Warriors having to face the Jazz than the Rockets. Now that I know the Rockets are likely to be Golden State’s next victims, I feel as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, and I can finally kick my feet up and tilt my chair back as I witness the Warriors pick the Rockets apart piece by piece.

Because it’s not so much a question of who’s gonna guard Clint Capela; the real question that should be on everyone’s mind:

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