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The Houston Rockets have been battling injuries all season, and the news just got worse, as it’s been announced that center Clint Capela will miss the next four to six weeks with a thumb injury.
Rockets center Clint Capela will miss four to six weeks with right thumb injury, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 14, 2019
The injury is reported to be ligament damage, and Capela has already had an MRI and will be looking into getting a second opinion, according to ESPN.
The Rockets are already playing without star point guard Chris Paul and sixth man Eric Gordon, and though both are expected back relatively soon, that’s a lot of man power to be down with Capela now out until possibly March.
Capela is currently in the midst of his finest statistical season, averaging 17.6 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game on 63 percent shooting, and the Rockets will replace his minutes with some combination of Nene, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Marquese Chriss, though I have a hard time seeing Chris being able to contribute anything substantial.
Reminder: In the fourth quarter last night Marquese Chriss was lost on offense and told to go stand in the corner by James Harden. This occurred in the middle of a play.
— The Dream Shake (@DreamShakeSBN) January 14, 2019
So... not confident he's going to deliver much in Capela's absence.
James Harden, who’s already been handling a ridiculous usage and has been playing out of his mind now for weeks, is going to have to step it up even further in Capela’s absence, and hopefully the Rockets can tread water until they get some guys back.
Get well soon, Clint (and EG and CP3)!