<img alt="Atlanta Hawks v Chicago Bulls - Play-In Tournament" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/D1I0CsinO9jqOJw-hvAGTQjNQHU=/0x0:7821x5214/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73382324/2147891418.0.jpg">
Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images
The Swiss international had maybe his toughest season since coming to Atlanta. Clint Capela has been a lightning rod for criticism over the Hawks’ collective sagging play over the past three seasons — especially so last season. But has that ire from the fanbase truly been warranted?
On the surface, Capela’s 2023-24 stat line reveals his usual draw: 11.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.5 blocks per game in 2023-24. But Capela’s shooting efficiency nosedived this past season, going from 65% to 57% from the field between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
There was a notable uptick in his mobility and leaping late in the season — a development which saw him return to his usual strong rim protection numbers. But with a pair of small guards, a rotating forward crew around him and his own injuries, the team effect was all the same: an Atlanta Hawks defense that simply wasn’t good enough.
For a guy with such a defined role on both ends of the court, let split this player review into the most obvious basketball delineation.
Offense
Capela’s role on offense has been very clear since the day he entered the NBA: screen hard, roll to the basket, and hit the offensive glass. But issues with finishing at the rim reared its ugly head in 2023-24.
His offensive rebounding was as productive as ever, but it seems a common notion to hand wave that productivity away by claiming that his frequent misses at the rim juice his numbers. On putbacks (by definition an offensive rebound and a close shot attempt), Capela shot a ghastly 48% last season — again, these shots are typically right at the rim.
That’s clearly a rather unfortunate mark.
But it does deserve mention that Capela remains one of, if not the, best offensive rebounder in the league with a gaudy 18.7% offensive rebound rate. So, he’s generating tons of offensive rebounds that no one else in the league could for these situations — more than four extra possessions per 100 than any other qualifying player in the NBA.
For every blown tip-in, there were many examples of Capela securing rebounds in a crowd and (eventually) sending it home.
But then, there is other side of the coin where Capela can’t lay the ball in over smaller defenders.
As a roll man in the pick-and-roll, the numbers are much rosier — 59% on roll finishes in these situations. And this remains a pick-and-roll heavy offense.
Of course, Capela offers above-the-rim vertical spacing, but none of the horizontal kind across the basketball court. The Swiss big shot just 2% of his shots from outside 10 feet last season, and that just about forces the Hawks to deploy 4-out lineups around him.
With Saddiq Bey struggling shooting corner threes, like John Collins the season before him, the cramped offense had a tendency to stick in mud against better competition. While Young’s injury down the stretch was also a big driver, the Hawks failed to record a top-10 offense for the first time since 2019-20.
Ultimately, it may be time to seek a ‘stretchier’ 5 (if possible, those are hard to find) should the Hawks want to encourage the continued growth of Jalen Johnson as the franchise power forward.
Defense
Capela struggled with a laundry list of core and lower body injuries in 2023-24. You name it, knee, Achilles, calf, adductor, they all plagued the big at some point last season. While the Hawks finished an unsightly 27th in defensive rating the past season, his individual play on this side of the ball was still as steady as ever in my eyes once he regained his footing down the stretch of the season.
When on the court, he was absolutely a positive influence on the numbers defending at the rim. Capela had the best defended field goal percentage and the biggest differential of any high-minutes Hawk last season — far outpacing the next two players, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu.
In plain English, Capela’s rim defense caused opponents to shoot 59% at the rim, five percentage points lower than they usually shoot from that close range. Video examples to follow:
Head coach Quin Snyder had his big men defending screens at a much higher level up the court than years past, putting a lot of onus on help defenders to step up and momentarily hold their ground. The results of that defense (mostly due to the lack of size/length elsewhere) were largely very poor, and Capela — classically a drop big — took some time to adapt to all the things required of him there.
The big man was a bit less effective on the defensive glass than the offensive glass, but his rebounding there was equally important with the Hawks having to use smaller players at the 4 when Jalen Johnson was out with injury.
With Capela’s future with the franchise maybe in doubt, and the possible added wrinkles of a new defensive scheme, now may be the right time to pivot and aim to pair a more mobile big with more size in help positions.
Conclusion
On the balance, Clint Capela was a sharply positive contributor — despite the points left at the rim offensively. He finished the season +3.1 points per 100 possessions while playing major minutes for a team that was -2.2 points per 100 possessions overall. That 5.3 net rating swing just shows the value in rebounding and rim protection he brings, even in a supposed down season.
At exit interviews, Capela repeated talked about the lack of a collective focus on defense and pointed to stretches during the season where that focus was lost. “We weren’t really able to be consistent defensively [as a team],” he said. “Our goal was definitely to be better than the year before. We weren’t.”
It’s clear Capela really prides himself on the team defense, and he was disappointed in the team’s performance on that side of the ball in 2023-24. “When I look at teams like Minnesota or the top three teams in the NBA, they’re able to hold teams under 100 points,” he continued. “This is what I want to do. This is what I want for my team. It can’t just be one player. It has to be a common goal. We all have to have that mindset and that goal. That we want to hold teams under 100 points, which will gives us more [of a] chance to win the game.”
There is more than one elephant in the room: the Hawks own the number one overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Clint Capela is 30 years old with a long injury list, and he’s on an expiring contract in 2024-25. With the pick, the Hawks could go a different direction at center, and his expiring contract make him very moveable around the league should the Hawks have confidence in Onyeka Okongwu going forward.
But it’s clear Capela still provide oodles of defensive value to this team, in addition to being Trae Young’s preferred pick-and-roll partner. Of course, there are also questions surrounding Young’s long-term future here, but the Hawks will have to weigh Capela’s age, contract, and health in any trade discussions this offseason should they look to make a big change at the center position.
<img alt="Atlanta Hawks v Chicago Bulls - Play-In Tournament" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/D1I0CsinO9jqOJw-hvAGTQjNQHU=/0x0:7821x5214/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73382324/2147891418.0.jpg">
Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images
The Swiss international had maybe his toughest season since coming to Atlanta. Clint Capela has been a lightning rod for criticism over the Hawks’ collective sagging play over the past three seasons — especially so last season. But has that ire from the fanbase truly been warranted?
On the surface, Capela’s 2023-24 stat line reveals his usual draw: 11.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.5 blocks per game in 2023-24. But Capela’s shooting efficiency nosedived this past season, going from 65% to 57% from the field between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
There was a notable uptick in his mobility and leaping late in the season — a development which saw him return to his usual strong rim protection numbers. But with a pair of small guards, a rotating forward crew around him and his own injuries, the team effect was all the same: an Atlanta Hawks defense that simply wasn’t good enough.
For a guy with such a defined role on both ends of the court, let split this player review into the most obvious basketball delineation.
Offense
Capela’s role on offense has been very clear since the day he entered the NBA: screen hard, roll to the basket, and hit the offensive glass. But issues with finishing at the rim reared its ugly head in 2023-24.
His offensive rebounding was as productive as ever, but it seems a common notion to hand wave that productivity away by claiming that his frequent misses at the rim juice his numbers. On putbacks (by definition an offensive rebound and a close shot attempt), Capela shot a ghastly 48% last season — again, these shots are typically right at the rim.
That’s clearly a rather unfortunate mark.
But it does deserve mention that Capela remains one of, if not the, best offensive rebounder in the league with a gaudy 18.7% offensive rebound rate. So, he’s generating tons of offensive rebounds that no one else in the league could for these situations — more than four extra possessions per 100 than any other qualifying player in the NBA.
For every blown tip-in, there were many examples of Capela securing rebounds in a crowd and (eventually) sending it home.
But then, there is other side of the coin where Capela can’t lay the ball in over smaller defenders.
As a roll man in the pick-and-roll, the numbers are much rosier — 59% on roll finishes in these situations. And this remains a pick-and-roll heavy offense.
Of course, Capela offers above-the-rim vertical spacing, but none of the horizontal kind across the basketball court. The Swiss big shot just 2% of his shots from outside 10 feet last season, and that just about forces the Hawks to deploy 4-out lineups around him.
With Saddiq Bey struggling shooting corner threes, like John Collins the season before him, the cramped offense had a tendency to stick in mud against better competition. While Young’s injury down the stretch was also a big driver, the Hawks failed to record a top-10 offense for the first time since 2019-20.
Ultimately, it may be time to seek a ‘stretchier’ 5 (if possible, those are hard to find) should the Hawks want to encourage the continued growth of Jalen Johnson as the franchise power forward.
Defense
Capela struggled with a laundry list of core and lower body injuries in 2023-24. You name it, knee, Achilles, calf, adductor, they all plagued the big at some point last season. While the Hawks finished an unsightly 27th in defensive rating the past season, his individual play on this side of the ball was still as steady as ever in my eyes once he regained his footing down the stretch of the season.
When on the court, he was absolutely a positive influence on the numbers defending at the rim. Capela had the best defended field goal percentage and the biggest differential of any high-minutes Hawk last season — far outpacing the next two players, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu.
In plain English, Capela’s rim defense caused opponents to shoot 59% at the rim, five percentage points lower than they usually shoot from that close range. Video examples to follow:
Head coach Quin Snyder had his big men defending screens at a much higher level up the court than years past, putting a lot of onus on help defenders to step up and momentarily hold their ground. The results of that defense (mostly due to the lack of size/length elsewhere) were largely very poor, and Capela — classically a drop big — took some time to adapt to all the things required of him there.
The big man was a bit less effective on the defensive glass than the offensive glass, but his rebounding there was equally important with the Hawks having to use smaller players at the 4 when Jalen Johnson was out with injury.
With Capela’s future with the franchise maybe in doubt, and the possible added wrinkles of a new defensive scheme, now may be the right time to pivot and aim to pair a more mobile big with more size in help positions.
Conclusion
On the balance, Clint Capela was a sharply positive contributor — despite the points left at the rim offensively. He finished the season +3.1 points per 100 possessions while playing major minutes for a team that was -2.2 points per 100 possessions overall. That 5.3 net rating swing just shows the value in rebounding and rim protection he brings, even in a supposed down season.
At exit interviews, Capela repeated talked about the lack of a collective focus on defense and pointed to stretches during the season where that focus was lost. “We weren’t really able to be consistent defensively [as a team],” he said. “Our goal was definitely to be better than the year before. We weren’t.”
It’s clear Capela really prides himself on the team defense, and he was disappointed in the team’s performance on that side of the ball in 2023-24. “When I look at teams like Minnesota or the top three teams in the NBA, they’re able to hold teams under 100 points,” he continued. “This is what I want to do. This is what I want for my team. It can’t just be one player. It has to be a common goal. We all have to have that mindset and that goal. That we want to hold teams under 100 points, which will gives us more [of a] chance to win the game.”
There is more than one elephant in the room: the Hawks own the number one overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Clint Capela is 30 years old with a long injury list, and he’s on an expiring contract in 2024-25. With the pick, the Hawks could go a different direction at center, and his expiring contract make him very moveable around the league should the Hawks have confidence in Onyeka Okongwu going forward.
But it’s clear Capela still provide oodles of defensive value to this team, in addition to being Trae Young’s preferred pick-and-roll partner. Of course, there are also questions surrounding Young’s long-term future here, but the Hawks will have to weigh Capela’s age, contract, and health in any trade discussions this offseason should they look to make a big change at the center position.
Link to original article
