Houston Rockets center Clint Capela is questionable for Wednesday’s home game against the Miami Heat with an illness, the team announced at Tuesday’s practice.
It would be a significant absence for the Rockets (11-6) against the Heat (11-4), who defeated Houston by 29 points earlier this month. A final decision on Capela’s availability is unlikely to be made by the team until shortly before Wednesday night’s tipoff at Toyota Center.
If Capela is unable to play, the Rockets would likely start veteran center Tyson Chandler in his place — just as they did on Nov. 15 and Nov. 16, when Capela missed a pair of games with a suspected concussion. Third-year big Isaiah Hartenstein would then be elevated to the backup role.
The Rockets did win both games, and Hartenstein was very impressive with 16 rebounds in 30 minutes at Minnesota. However, the Heat clearly represent a superior opponent relative to the Pacers and Timberwolves.
No further details regarding the nature of the 6-foot-10 center’s illness were immediately disclosed. Capela is averaging 14.6 points, 14.7 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 31.9 minutes per game this season, and he’s currently in the middle of a historic rebounding stretch with at least 19 rebounds in seven consecutive games.
Prior to Capela’s current run, the only NBA player to have at least 19 rebounds in seven straight games was rebounding legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, who last did it in the 1994-95 season.
The only player in Rockets franchise history to have posted averages of at least 14 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks per game in a single season was Hakeem Olajuwon, who did it 30 years ago in the 1989-90 season.
