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Clint Capela vs. Hassan Whiteside

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by HouStu_Rocket, Oct 15, 2015.

  1. Shroopy2

    Shroopy2 Contributing Member

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    Still have to see how a FULL season of Whiteside turns out. He's big time EMERGED, but hasnt "arrived" quiiiite yet. Still some question marks.

    He could be close to same as last season. He can regress in production enough where he's still good, but it doesnt make him a better option than what Rockets have. He can flameout quick Andrew Bynum/Larry Sanders style, cuz caution flags are STILL there.

    Because of past concerns, Whiteside needs to be at least 90% the player he was last year to get consideration as Dwight replacement at whatever contract he gets.
     
    #41 Shroopy2, Oct 16, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2015
  2. digitallinh

    digitallinh Member

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    If Capela puts up the numbers Whiteside did last season along with what we get from dwight, we're gonna be a top 2 seed. 48 minutes of elite center play. Now if only one of them could play power forward.
     
  3. ParaSolid

    ParaSolid Member

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    Whiteside has a ridiculous wingspan. Watching him play is really striking because of how far he can reach. Those rubber arms of his are just incredible. He barely needs to jump to dunk the ball. I'm not even sure if he does need to jump to dunk. Pair that with nasty athleticism and you've got great player/prospect.

    As already said, Whiteside is better than Capela at this stage of their careers. I don't even know that you can say that Capela has more upside because Whiteside is still young and developing. The fact that the latter is surrounded by quality vets should mitigate any concerns about his off court issues (alleged). With all that said, I'm happy with Capela. He's going to have a monster year this year. People are going to sit up and take notice of Swiss Chocolate
     
  4. roslolian

    roslolian Member

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    Yes growth is not linear but we're talking about a rookie last year, are you really telling me Capela won't improve? And the thing is you're right, growth for big men is a bell curve. So this Capela at his worst, we can only expect better things from him.

    The part I bolded makes no sense, a 21 year old rookie who has impactful playoff games and looks this good in the preseason doesn't exactly fit the definition of a "scrub". Saying he "hasn't proved anything yet" is false, as a rookie he already proved he is a capable backup big man. It doesn't take a genius to put 2 and 2 together to see Capela is gonna be a really good player in the next couple of years. Why do you need to see it first before you acknowledge LOL, everybody can see it coming.

    I mean if you want to talk proving what exactly has Whiteside proved? The talent for him has always been there, the dude has long arms, big hands and is extremely athletic. But he's been cut by multiple teams for a reason, something seems to be wrong with the guy. Last year was supposed to be his contract year and he could only keep his **** together for half a season. And this dude will already be 27 next year wtf. I don't want to be the team that pays Whiteside a ton of money then spends each day worrying he'll go ape**** and get expelled from the league.
     
  5. roslolian

    roslolian Member

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    Whiteside's already 26, if you look at Dwight's growth this was pretty his peak already so what kind of improvements are you expecting considering Dwight started breaking down at 30? Of course he's gonna be better at this stage, Whiteside has like 5 years on Capela this is like looking at Bogut vs Townes and saying Bogut is better.Check out all the stuff Whiteside did last year, those vets certainly kept him in check LOL
     
  6. topfive

    topfive CF OG

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    Whiteside was having those "monster" games while getting starter's minutes. Capela had "OK" games because he was getting a sub's minutes. Their per-36 stats are much more even:

    PTS
    12.8 Capela
    17.8 Whiteside

    RBS
    14.4 Capela
    15.2 Whiteside

    ASTS
    0.8 Capela
    0.2 Whiteside

    STLS
    0.4 Capela
    0.9 Whiteside

    BKS
    3.6 Capela
    3.9 Whiteside

    TO
    2.0 Capela
    1.8 Whiteside

    PF
    5.6 Capela
    4.1 Whiteside

    And Whiteside has been hanging around the league a lot longer. Last year Capela was a TRUE rookie.

    With stats being nearly even, I'd go with the younger guy who's NOT a certified headcase.
     
    #46 topfive, Oct 16, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2015
  7. Joe Joe

    Joe Joe Go Stros!
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    You're risking the wrath of heypartner. Might want to look at his post season stats considering 17 games isn't too bad a comparison to Whitrside's regular season.
     
  8. topfive

    topfive CF OG

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    Yeah, I know per-36 stats can be misleading, but in this case it's the best comparison we have. Simply looking at Capela's vs Whiteside's per-game numbers is DEFINITELY misleading.
     
  9. oakdogg

    oakdogg Contributing Member

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    How is Whiteside's story at all like Jermaine O'Neil's? I don't think you know anything about Jermaine O'Neal.
     
  10. oakdogg

    oakdogg Contributing Member

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    Why do people keep saying Capela can develop into the type of player Whiteside is? You can't develop considerably taller height or considerably longer arms. Whiteside just has way more impressive measurements than Capela.
     
  11. Houstunna

    Houstunna The Most Unbiased Fan
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    Hassan is "Hakeem-lite" on one end of the floor.

    Offensively, he's Mutombo-lite.
     
  12. ParaSolid

    ParaSolid Member

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    Dwight was getting NBA experience since he was 18 or so. That's not even close to a good comparison LOL. Whiteside hasn't played in the NBA for five seasons more than Capela. The age argument is pretty weak if you ask me, especially since bigmen can typically stay in the league longer than smalls. That kind of longevity should temper any concerns about long term planning. Furthermore, big men peak later, at around 28-30. Even taking Whiteside now at 25-26, you'd have him for all of his prime.

    Whiteside has shown that he's got a J or at the least the foundations for one, can hit FTs, is a physical freak in the league of Gobert and Deandre, and isn't afraid to bang in the paint.

    He's had a few incidents here and there, but he stayed in the league and finished the season strong. Relative to his past stints I would say that it's obvious that there was an improvement there.

    You're basically arguing that capela has a higher upside and should stay longer in the league. I'd say that whiteside probably has a higher upside and will be in the league a while. He's also more physically gifted than capela.

    Not hating on Clint and I'm very happy with him. Just don't think that he will be a better nba player than whiteside
     
  13. joxford

    joxford Member

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    Whiteside is crazy overrated on defense. For all his length, he is no where near the rim protector Gobert is. Opponent Field Goal % at rim for Whiteside is 46.5% while Gobert is at 40.4% on the same number of attempts per game. Whiteside also doesn't pass the ball. He would rather put up a bad shot out of a double team than pass the ball and only had 6 assists all season.

    BTW for anyone wondering about Capela's rim protection, opponent FG% at rim is 29.5% on 3.7 attempts per game only playing 7.5 minutes a game. That is 17.76 attempts per 36 minutes, Whiteside was at 12.35 rim attempts contested per 36. In the playoffs Clint contested 3.1 attempts at the rim per game (14.88 per 36) allowing a 42.3 FG%. I'd post Whiteside's playoff stats, but I can't find them anywhere :/
     
  14. Scola Scoops

    Scola Scoops Member

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    Also, you can't teach standing reach. If Whiteside keeps his **** together, he could play till he's 35
     
  15. peleincubus

    peleincubus Member

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    i think it's too hard to say at this point who will be better. obviously everyone has been off about whiteside. no one here thought that clint C could be anything at all last year, and people were angry that he forced himself on the team. but by the end of the year he was playing in the playoffs and playing excellent in limited minutes.

    so your guess is as good as anybody else's.
     
  16. showa13

    showa13 Member

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    Capela at 21 is miles ahead of what Whiteside was at 21. Whiteside with a full season starting will finish in the top 3 for DPOY, he's that good on defense and right now better than Capela. But when Clint reaches 25 he will be better than Whiteside at 25 if he stays on the same development path he's on now. Having Dwight, who is better than Whiteside, in front of Clint makes him a better fit here. And Whiteside is about to get PAID. He is a headcase and probably still very immature but he's a very very good center.

    If Dwight did leave I would at least kick the tires on Whiteside next FA(unless of course we need space for a potential Durant)

    On another note, someone mentioned Gobert earlier...I'd take him over both Whiteside and Capela...***k the j*zz
     
  17. malakas

    malakas Member

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    Good post and lol at the last sentence. :p
    But also let's put capella's stats into context. The sample is minuscule AND the other team didnt have time to scout him. We will see how his stats look after he plays in RS and lot of games and see what he can do when teams adjust for him.

    And per 36 stats are crap people. It takes for granted that a) a player won't foul out b) a player can maintain the same perfomance over a long time.
    But when it comes to centers esp young, fouling is a known issue, and not every player can maintain the same for long.
    The better stat is per 100 possesions.
     
  18. malakas

    malakas Member

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    If he gets a brain transplant? A lot actually.
    First of all he has improved his body. Probably is the only guy who saying he put on 20 lbs of muscles during a summer is actually true.
    [​IMG]

    Then improvement in not fouling, keeping his temper , improving his tunnel vision a little bit at least, and TEAM DEFENCE. Not go for the block every time as he does now.
    These things are definitely improvable at his age.
    More importantly : Improvement projection isn't only an age thing. Years in the league (nba) is equally relevant. What kind of improvement did he have when he played in Iraq? Maybe a wake up call only.
     
  19. roslolian

    roslolian Member

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    WTF don't you have this backwards? Big men actually have SHORTER career spans than smalls because the stress on their body is more intense, this is esp. true if you rely on athleticism like Dwight or Whiteside because then you're jumping all over the court when you go up to block shots and then banging bodies in the post on offense. With Capela you're already seeing good production when he's only 21, so when Capela is 26 he'll only start approaching his peak but Whiteside is ready for retirement already. So if you assume Whiteside can play until he's 33 that's 7 years, but with Capela if he plays till 33 he's gonna give you 13 years of playing time or almost double of Whiteside...and at 1/10 the cost for the first 5 years due to rookie salary!

    I'm not arguing that Capela has a higher upside, I'm saying that as a prospect and player to have on your team he is superior to Whiteside because he doesn't cost significant money to keep and he isn't a head case. How do you guys even know he won't be like the dude in Milwaukee who took the money and then bailed to do other things in life? Is half a season of play better than getting cut from multiple teams and being forced to play in Iraq? yes. But is that significant enough improvement to pay him the 15M+ per year for 5 years, and then take the risk that he will implode and you still need to pay him his money? LOL I don't want that kind of potential time bomb on the squad.
     
  20. roslolian

    roslolian Member

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    Improvement is not only an age thing but for a sport like bball which relies a lot on muscle memory age is a major factor, those years lost in Iraq will be developmental years that he wasted and won't get back. Scola for example entered the league at age 27, do you think he made large strides in his game when he entered the NBA and faced significantly better competition as well as got access to NBA-level training facilities? That guy is only 1 year older than Whiteside so in terms of improvement I don't dramatic gains from Whiteside moving forward, at least I've never seen a 26 yr old go from low bball IQ to genius bball IQ for example. Most likely the issues of tunnel vision, keeping his temper controlled, going for the block or shot everytime etc will be issues that persist his entire career see guys like Rahseed Wallace, Allen Iverson, Dalembert, Camby, Kobe etc.

    Whiteside will definitely make improvements given the fact that he has little NBA experience but at his age that growth will be less than the growth Capela will have in the next few years.
     

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