How Clint Capela Helps the Houston Rockets' Playoff Hopes

The Houston Rockets signed Clint Capela to a three year, $21.5 million dollar contract on Monday evening, marking the organizations second addition of the day. Capela spent the first six seasons of his career in Houston, before being traded to Atlanta near the 2020 trade deadline, and has now returned to the Rockets.

Along with the addition of Capela, the Rockets brought in Kevin Durant and Dorian Finney-Smith to help boost 2026 title chances – signifying a clear win-now mindset. Durant will act as the team's top scorer, leading by example for a young offensive core around him, and Finney-Smith helps to replace the point-of-attack defense and 3-point shooting lost through trading Dillon Brooks.

But where does Capela fit in?

Matchup Counters

The past season, the NBA experienced a resurgence of the double-big lineups, and the Houston Rockets were a driving force of it. In the first series of the playoffs, Houston pushed the Golden State Warriors to a competitive seven-game series, largely due to the successful pairing of Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams.

The Warriors were one of the Western Conference's most undersized teams, and it still took Houston frequently running a double-big lineup to keep up. If the Rockets were to get matched up with other contenders, it wouldn't be suprising to see Sengun, Adams and Capela all receive consistent minutes throughout the series.

The Mavericks – who were plagued by injuries last season – contain the leagues deepest frontcourt rotation headlined by Anthony Davis, Derrick Lively and Cooper Flagg. The Timberwolves – who took down the Warriors to advance the conference finals – hold Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle and Naz Reid, along with adding two rookie centers in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The 2025 NBA Champions in the OKC Thunder have their own double-big lineup with Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, not to mention the versatile Jaylin Wililams and rookie addition Thomas Sorber. Oh yeah, and the Denver Nuggets have three time MVP Nikola Jokic – possibly the best player in the world.

The Western Conference hasn't seen this much size in over a decade, and Capela's addition helps the Rockets keep up.

Shot Blocking

The Rockets ranked No. 13 in the association in blocks per game with 5, an acceptable mark. However, the majority of those blocks were racked up through a collective effort of sizeable wings and guards like Amen Thompson, Tari Eason and Jabari Smith Jr. That's certainly a positive aspect of the defense, but it also speaks to the lack of a true rim-protecting center on the roster.

Sengun has taken strides as a defender, improving his positioning, activity and ability to wall up, but his lack of verticality likely prevents him from ever being a truly effective shot-blocker. Adams – while one of the most physical players in the league – doesn't quite have the vertical pop as Capela either.

While Capela may not be the athlete he was during his first stint with the Rockets, he's averaged at least 1.6 blocks per 36 minutes in each of the last five seasons with Atlanta – good enough to rank first out of all Rockets to play at least 10 games in 2024-2025.

Adding a shot-blocker like Capela to the mix of swarming wings would make for the perfect defensive unit.