Clint Capela getting no love in All-Star voting is criminal

The second of the NBA All-Star voting returns is here, and it’s interesting to say the least.

The Houston Rockets faithful were hoping for two of their guys to appear in the returns, but it’s most likely not the two they were thinking of. James Harden, as expected, makes an appearance in third place behind Stephen Curry and Derrick Rose (How?). And Chris Paul, who has been out since early December, rounds out the top 10 guards at No.10.

But, like last time, there’s still no Clint Capela. The question here remains: HOW?

There are some very questionable picks ahead of Capela in the front court. Steven Adams has received over one million votes for sixth place. Kyle Kuzma has nearly 600,000 votes at No.8. Draymond Green is No.9 at a little over 400,000 votes, and DeMarcus Cousins is No.10 at nearly 300,000 votes.

I’ll say that again: Cousins, who has not played any games this season, has nearly 300,000 votes.

The only “questionable” pick ahead of Capela that I don’t find too questionable is Luka Doncic. Doncic isn’t better than Capela right now, but he is an exciting player and such a fun scorer to watch, so he’s going to get votes. The only thing I don’t get is how he received over two million votes and is second in voting over guys like Paul George and Anthony Davis. That doesn’t make any sense.

Back to the main point.

What more does Capela have to do to get acknowledged?

Capela’s currently fourth in the West in scoring among centers, eighth overall, behind Davis, Towns, and Jokic, respectfully. Capela is fifth overall in rebounding at 12.9 rebounds per game. Steven Adams isn’t even leading his own team in rebounding; Russell Westbrook is.

In field goal percentage, Capela is fourth overall at 62.6-percent a game. In the top 10 of FG%, he’s only one of three players who have attempted at least 400 shot attempts. Adams, who is seventh in FG%, has taken 61 shots fewer than Capela and has made 49 fewer. Deandre Ayton of the Suns (10 in FG%) has taken 39 shots more than Capela and made only 11 more, and has only 6 more points made for the season. Capela is also tied for eighth in block at 1.9 per game.

At this point, it’s hard to understand what voters could want from an All-Star center. Capela checks off all the boxes in the big man major stats. He leads his team in blocks, rebounding, and field goal percentage, and he’s in the top five in the NBA for the last two. Some of the big men in here aren’t even the best rebounder on their team. DeMarcus Cousins hasn’t even played a game- Capela has played at least one.

I’m not going to go out on a limb and say that Capela should be a starter, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense how he’s not in the top 10 at all. This might just solidify what I was saying early about Doncic, and there’s not necessarily a rhyme or reason to voting. The only thing I can suggest is that Rockets fans and Houstonians go out (AKA get on your phone) and vote for Capela to give him a fighting chance.