A multitude of international players have been flourishing in the NBA for quite some time already, and the foreign presence seems to be getting stronger year after year.
It’s a good thing for both the NBA and basketball in general. There’s a lot of talent residing outside the United States that are just waiting for that one big break.
ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle recently came up with an Insider article containing the list of the best foreign players in the league and their projected performances for the upcoming season. Curiously enough, the ranking has placed Houston Rockets center Clint Capela over the much more celebrated Marc Gasol.
The previous season was a quiet one for Gasol due to injury problems. But his numbers were still very good at 16.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game. However, injuries limited him to only 52 games, preventing the All-Star center to make a significant impact on the Grizzlies. How much more he can improve, stat-wise, next year remains a mystery.
On the other hand, Capela’s stats pale in comparison to Memphis’ slotman. 7.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks aren’t sexy numbers. But if considering his “per-36 minutes” projections, the Swiss shotblocker shows tons of potential. 13.3 points, 12.1 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 2.3 blocks are All-Star worthy figures.
What works in favor of Clint Capela is that Houston will rely on him heavily to man the paint this year. With Donatas Motiejunas’ status up in the air, the only other big that the Rockets have is the veteran Nene who’s no longer able to play solid extended minutes.
Ryan Anderson will be the team’s main scoring big, but that doesn’t bother Capela as he should be very comfortable playing off of Anderson and simply do the dirty work.
2016-2017 is going to be a big year for Clint Capela and if he does reach those projections, then he’ll surely be in the conversation for Most Improved Player award.
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