The Swiss Alp can still get it done.
A significant portion of the fanbase has desired — really for multiple years now — to move on from center Clint Capela. It all came to a head last season when Capela’s shooting percentage plummeted from 65% in 2022-23 to 57% in 2023-24.
He’s averaging just 10 points on just 23 minutes per game. And sure, he has no bag. He can’t hesi hang pull into a middie. Heck, he has trouble with five-foot hook shots from time to time.
But Capela remains great in his role, and you can’t tell the story of the defensive turnaround without his play so far this season.
This Hawks defense is improved — actually much improved. As of right now, they have a 114.3 defensive rating which ranks 18th in the league. That’s up (or down?) from a 119.4 defensive rating that ranked 27th, ghastly even in an inflated offensive environment.
Yes, Dyson Daniels has been a one-man wrecking crew on the perimeter, Jalen Johnson’s athleticism has shined, and Zaccharie Risacher has hit the ground running as a defensive wing/forward presence at the ripe age of 19. But the anchor of the defense, as he has been for four seasons plus now, remains Clint Capela.
Per Dunksandthrees, Capela currently leads the team in EPM (expected plus-minus, an all-inclusive stat that includes camera tracking data). He’s also currently a 92nd percentile defender in the league, with the only Hawk above him the Great Barrier Thief himself, Dyson Daniels.
Capela is right now the leading offensive rebounder in the league, at least in terms of grabbing the highest percentage of available offensive rebounds among players that qualify. To contextualize, his 16.6% offensive rebound rate (OReb%), he alone is giving the Hawks a second possession roughly every sixth time a missed shot comes available for grabs.
And he only trails Karl Anthony-Towns, a player often flanked by the 6-foot-4 Josh Hart at power forward, in total rebounding percentage so far.
But the interior defense is what is truly propping up his value. Newsflash: he is still an elite shot stopper at the rim. It’s something that isn’t flashy, but it’s extremely impactful in limiting the easiest opportunities for opposing offenses.
Per Todd Whitehead, the field goal percentages allowed when defending shots in the paint broken up by height tiers:
Lowest FG% allowed on shots in the paint by defenders of different heights. pic.twitter.com/rCMj9VJIPZ
— Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) December 15, 2024
And if you narrow that down to shots defended at the rim (withing the 3-foot restricted area), Capela shows up in the top-15 in the league among all players that have logged at least 600 minutes so far this season per the NBA’s stats as of December 16.
These metrics point to one conclusion: Clint Capela remains a high-level defensive center.
Capela had reportedly come into past seasons harboring various lower body ailments. He then, again reportedly, had to work himself back into better shape by the second half of the season.
But after an offseason without postseason play for the first time since 2020, Capela looks more mobile and burst-y than year’s past, harboring back to his days in 2020-21 when he was undoubtedly one of the best defenders in the world.
After experimenting with bringing bigs up to and above the level of ball screens, the Hawks are back to primarily having Capela and other bigs defend below the level of the screen. This is made possible because of the improved screen navigation from the Hawks’ perimeter players compared to year’s past, and Capela’s drop defense remains a huge strength for him and the team as a whole.
After getting square to stop Darius Garland’s path to the rim in the below clip, Capela recovers and absolutely shuts the door on Donovan Mitchell.
Capela remains the anchor and lead communicator on the floor. Watch as he stunts from the nail when his man, Brook Lopez, is above the break. When Lopez relocates, Capela signals to pass off the assignment. And then he ranges over to stuff Giannis Antetokounmpo just for good measure.
And Capela simply looks very agile in the early part of the season. That’s allowed him to switch out onto guards and hold his own at times like he would routinely during his tenure in Houston with the Rockets.
He’s also getting off the floor faster. I mean, look how quick his jump off the floor is to meet Antetokounmpo at the rim in the following video.
Now, that’s not to say the Hawks should be wedded to Clint Capela long term. The Swiss international is approaching the end of his contract — plus an extension the team agreed with him on almost three seasons go.
As an upcoming unrestricted free agent who turns 31 in May, he is a center in the archetype (one without much in the way of modern offensive skill) that the league increasingly values less and less. The offense has seen better days, as it’s hard to position Capela away from the dunker spot to open the floor up for drivers and cutters in an era where space is at a premium.
The Hawks are really struggling to shoot the three this season. They have a bottom-five three-point rate and are bottom-10 in three-point shooting percentage as of the writing of this. Capela obviously doesn’t help in this regard, and it’s clear the offense has largely been propped up by Trae Young’s passing brilliance and timely off-ball moving.
After years of being a perennial top-10 offense, the Hawks are now middle of the pack and sliding.
Additionally, he finds himself at the center (pun intended) of trade rumors as an expiring contract, starting-caliber big man. Capela’s lack of offensive versatility is quickly becoming a dinosaur in the pace-and-space era of basketball, and the Hawks will eventually have to see a different solution there.
But the thinking that now was the time to install Onyeka Okongwu — who just hasn’t shown nearly the proficiency defending at the rim or as an overall player — as the starting center just as his rookie extension kicks in has proven to be premature, if not all together misguided.
Clint Capela has been very valuable to this resurgent Hawks team, especially on the side of the ball that’s often overlooked and forgotten.
It’s time to put an end to the visceral moans and groans at every Capela misstep. Believe me, I hear them in State Farm Arena every home game and see them all too much online.
So maybe next time he blows a bunny at the rim, remember all of the layups he prevents at the other end. Apologies are absolutely warranted for the defensive pillar of the 14-13 Hawks. It’s not too late to send messages of appreciation instead.