Clint Capela felt like the Rockets gave up on him too quickly when they shipped him to the Hawks at the 2020 trade deadline, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The four-team deal came less than two years after Houston signed Capela to a five-year, $90MM contract, as the team opted to fully invest in a small-ball approach.
That decision has worked out well for Atlanta, which needed a strong rebounder and an interior presence on defense. Capela led the league in rebounding this season with 14.3 per night while averaging 2.0 blocks and shooting 59.4% from the field.
“What I like about this team is we always beat the odds,” he said. “People just don’t expect us to do it. People keep doubting us, and we just keep shocking them. In Houston, it was really a championship mentality every year, so it was almost like a must-win game, every game.”
There’s more on the Hawks:
- Nate McMillan was hesitant to join the Hawks as an assistant under Lloyd Price because he didn’t want to be perceived as a “coach in waiting,” according to Jeff Schultz of The Athletic. When McMillan took over in midseason, he made some important changes that pointed the team in the right direction, including gaining the trust of Trae Young and challenging John Collins to improve as a two-way player. McMillan also brought a new attitude to the job. “I know I’ve changed,” he said. “One thing I’ve learned is you have to adapt to a new generation of players. I’m a huge fan of Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski), and when I got the job in Indiana he sent me a message that basically said, ‘Adapt.’ He had to do that with the kids going from staying in school four years to being one-and-done, and I also had to learn to adapt.”
- Young accepted the blame for the Hawks’ embarrassment in Game 2 against the Bucks, per Royce Young of ESPN. Coming off a 48-point performance in the opener, Young shot just 6-of-16 and committed nine turnovers. “That’s all on me,” he said. “I’ve got to be better at taking care of the ball. And do a better job of at least getting us a shot and not turning it over so much. And I’ve got to do better and I will be better next game.”
- If there was a bright side in Friday’s blowout, it was the return of Cam Reddish after missing more than four months with right Achilles soreness, writes Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Reddish played 17 minutes and scored 11 points. “Basically it was an opportunity to get him some minutes,” McMillan said. “… It’s really tough to throw a guy out there in a situation like he’s been put in.”
I think that was the beginning of the end for the Rockets, when they traded away Clint capela. He was a fantastic rim protector and was the perfect lob partner which made James Harden’s game even that more effective than it already was.
Harden would Drive to the hole and either score one on one against his guy or if the center came over to help, would flip the lob to Capella for a nice easy two point dunk. When they traded him away that was the start of the unraveling.
The unraveling happened when they paired Harden and Paul. You can’t win championships without actually playing defense at all and by just heaving 3 point attempts from half court. They played schoolyard basketball and lost. It was bad coaching and letting prima donnas run the team.
No, it began when CP3 got hurt in game 5 against the Warriors.
My Hawks need a legit SG or SF who can provide some offensive help and lift the team when TY is overwhelmed. Bullock or Reggie Jackson could be a nice addition if they manage to move Bogdanovic. He has been really disappointing and needs to go!
He’s injured?!
You are FAR more disappointing than Bogdan. He’s been absolutely great. & we have numerous legit wings that can take pressure off Trae, which you’d already know if you were a real Hawks fan
Bogdan has been played hurt and it’s clearly affected his production. How can you call yourself a Hawks fan and not know such a basic fact?
They have drafted for the 2/3 and found talent. The talent needs to grow… and not be injured. Hunter
Rockets letting the chubby bearded calling the shots was a huge mistake. They should’ve never traded CP3. All they needed to do is trade Harden for another all star, keep Capela and get some pieces for their bench. Mavs are taking the same path right now with Doncic but Cuban is too cocky to admit that. Good for Carlsile to jump off that sinking ship!
link to sports.yahoo.com
Looks like trouble in paradise. I tried to tell them about KP. When we traded him. This board just hated on Knicks. Just couldn’t see big picture. KP is done if he goes at Luka.
Extremely happy to see Cam back. He can be BIG for us in this series & beyond
Eh. imo, he isn’t very good at this point in his young career. Offensively, he shoots horribly and doesn’t do much else. Provides good defense, but the Hawks are 10-16 this year with him, 31-15 without him.
Cam isn’t as good as he eventually will be but he’s pretty obviously good enough to be a difference maker for us in this series & possibly the Finals. Shooting the ball is literally 1 of his best skills. Im guessing you’re only looking at his shooting #s from this season but you’re ignoring the fact that he was playing hurt all season long. Hes healthy now & knocked down 3 jumpers in gm2, the 1st game action he’s seen in over 4months. Was he a horrible shooter in gm2? Obv not. He’s an elite defender of multiple positions, pretty easily the best perimeter defender on our team, even ahead of guys like KDunn & TSnell. He’s also a strong ballhandler for his size & a guy that can put serious pressure on opposing defenses with the dribble drive. Its obv ridiculous to look at the Hawks record w/ & w/o him bc of the fact that multiple guys were injured for the Hawks early in the season & we were a totally different team, w/ a different head coach & everything.
You think Cam is the difference. Then I’m afraid it’s over. He’s played ONE playoff gm. 17 mins. Only difference he’s making is taking up space on bench lol. Cam is yrs away fro making a difference. He should of been in G- league to speed up process.
It should be this way. But I don’t trust Bucks or Giannis. Giannis should be on blocks all day. No one on Hawks can deal with him. Not even Capela who he can just take outside. Okongwu could some. But Giannis length and quickness should be killing Hawks bigs. Hes not Randle on blocks. One of mistakes Knicks made was not posting Randle more. You get Capela in foul trouble. And Hawks D goes away. Bucks coach is worst coach left standing. Only reason he’s still here is Cause Kyrie got hurt. I really can not understand how this man still has a job after Bubble. This series should be over in 5. But Bucks just got no killer in them. Never should of lost gm 1. Hawks are a good team. Have overachieved this yr.
Atlanta The 2021 version of the Heat. It’s a mirage Collins Huerter. are not enough to push this team forward Gallo saved their ass more than once. Trae is the only drafted player that looks next level
It wasn’t the Rockets that gave up on him – it was Harden.