Rockets’ Clint Capela has been fighting illnesses since start of playoffs

Houston Rockets center, Clint Capela, has seen his numbers dip since the start of the playoffs. Capela is fighting multiple illnesses, which has clearly limited his energy on the court.

In Game 4 of the first round series between the Rockets and Jazz, Clint Capela had his worst game in a postseason where he has been relatively quiet. He finished with just 4 points and 7 rebounds on 1-6 shooting and the Rockets were outscored by 20 points while he was on the floor.

Per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Clint Capela is actually quite sick, as the center is battling both adenovirus and a klebsiella infection.

Capela has only played more than 30 minutes in two of the four games against the Jazz, after averaging 33.6 minutes per game in the regular season. His scoring is way down and he hasn’t connected with Harden on very many alley-oops in this series, even though Utah is practically giving Harden a driving lane.

In Game 4, Capela missed consecutive free throws with 4:04 left in the third quarter. It’s not rare for the big man to miss at the free throw line, but both of his attempts barely hit the front of the rim. Capela was clearly gassed at that point, and now it’s obvious why his energy reserves were running so low.

On Sunday, doctors told Capela it would be at least another four days before he was feeling like himself again. Mike D’Antoni hopes Capela will be closer to 100 percent on Wednesday for Game 5, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen.

“He’s trying to battle through it. I think he’s been great because he’s been able to play. Each day that passes, the virus passes and he’ll feel better. Hopefully next game, he’s back to almost 100 (percent.)”

Luckily, the Rockets have back-up should Capela play limited minutes on Wednesday. They have Nene, who has the size and experience to battle with Rudy Gobert down low and Kenneth Faried, who has played solid in limited minutes so far in the playoffs. The Rockets have also played P.J. Tucker at center in this series, although Houston has struggled to secure defensive rebounds when D’Antoni decides to go super small.

Either way, the Rockets will have home court advantage over Utah in Game 5 and will look to close the series out and prepare for Golden State in the next round