Houston Rockets center Clint Capela returned to the starting lineup in Monday’s home victory versus Portland after missing two games while going through the NBA’s concussion protocol.
Capela entered Monday averaging 13.4 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 30.2 minutes per game. Prior to his absence, Capela had grabbed at least 20 rebounds in three consecutive games, which no Rockets player had previously done since Moses Malone in 1982.
It didn’t take long in Monday’s game for Capela to show that he was ready to return. A pair of alley-oop slams in the first quarter off passes from James Harden served as evidence.
Capela finished with 20 rebounds for a fourth straight game, which no Rockets player had done since Elvin Hayes in January 1971. He also scored a season-high 22 points and blocked four shots (box score).
Capela’s absence traced back to a collision with Los Angeles big man JaMychal Green in the fourth quarter of last Wednesday’s win over the Clippers. Though Capela felt dizzy on the court immediately after taking a forearm to his head, the 25-year-old center clarified that he did not feel any more symptoms over the next few days.
“Right when I got hit, I felt a little bit dizzy,” Capela said to reporters before Monday’s game. “I think I took a little bit too long to get back on my feet. That’s why they had to take me back to the back.”
Because the Rockets were in a stretch of three games in four days, the protocol made it practically impossible for the 6-foot-10 big man to return in time for either Friday’s home game against Indiana or Saturday’s game at Minnesota.
“I was in concussion protocol, so the first day I had to do biking,” Capela said of his recovery. “The next day I was doing a workout without contact. The third and fourth days, I did more contact stuff, one-on-one with Danuel House.”
House, a 6-foot-6 swingman, was going through his own rehab process after bruising his back in last Monday’s win at New Orleans.
Both House and Capela made successful returns to Houston’s lineup versus Portland as starters, at small forward and center, respectively. Each said he was happy to be back with the team, which finished Monday with an 11-3 record and winners of eight consecutive games.
