Southwest Notes: Capela, Gordon, Daniels

After two long months, Clint Capela is set to make his return for the Rockets. According to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Capela could return as early as Tuesday, depending on how he feels after Monday’s practice.

On December 17, Capela fractured his left tibula and has been sidelined ever since. Though the Rockets have continued to win ball games in his absence, they’ll welcome the 22-year-old center back with open arms. Before going down with the injury, Capela had been averaging 11.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.

There’s more out of the Southwest Division:

• Halfway through the 2016/17 campaign, it appears as though the Rockets found themselves a bargain in Eric Gordon. Scott Cacciola of the New York Times writes that the shooting guard has thrived in head coach Mike D’Antoni‘s system. “I think he knew, more or less, the type of basketball we’d be playing, with the free rein on 3-pointers and all that,” D’Antoni said. “But I don’t think I could even articulate in the summertime exactly what we’d be doing, because I didn’t know we’d be doing this.”
• Unheralded offseason addition Troy Daniels has given the Grizzlies little choice but to expand his role with the organization, writes Blake Meyer of FanSided’s Beale St. Blues. Through 31 games, Daniels has given Memphis 10.1 points in less than 20 minutes per game and, according to Kevin Pelton of ESPN, has had a dramatic impact on the team’s plus-minus.
• It’s been nearly two years since Wesley Matthews tore his Achilles and over a year since he returned, but Zach Lowe of ESPN thinks the Mavs veteran is continuing to make progress.