The Rockets lost to the Spurs. Why was Capela abandoned in the second half after he performed well in the first half?

On November 8, the Rockets lost to the Spurs 110:121 on the road. Many of Rockets coach Udoka's formations in this game were criticized. Especially at the end of the second quarter, Udoka directly put on the top five lineups, causing the Rockets to go from leading by double digits to falling behind.

In this game, the Rockets' most effective players were Shepard and Capela. Both of them had a plus-minus of +8. Compared to Shepard, who finally got a chance to play in the final stage, why was Capela abandoned by Uduka in the second half?

In this game, Capela played 6 minutes and got 3 offensive rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. The plus-minus value on the court was +8.

Capela got playing time in the second quarter, and he only got playing time in the second quarter of the game.

While Capela was on the court, the Rockets' lineup was Shen Jing + Capela + Amen + Ethan + Shepard. The purpose of Uduka's lineup was a combination of double centers + three ball-handling points + goalkeeper.

In this lineup, the purpose of Uduka replacing Capela is to protect rebounds, protect the frame, and implement a strategy of unlimited defense changes.

In this lineup, Udoka dares to replace Capela. The main reason is that there are three ball-handling points in this lineup, namely Shen Jing, Shepard and Amen, who can make cakes for Capela respectively, and three space points, Ethan + Shepard + Amen (this three-pointer started very early) allows Capela to drag space and delay the attack to cover up the disadvantages. Moreover, the combination of Ethan + Amen is particularly good at transitioning between offense and defense. Capela's mobility and mobility are easy to use.

While Capela was on the court, he basically did not take any shots on the offensive end. This was mainly due to the Spurs' defensive intensity and Capela's playing time. A small part of it overlapped with Bunyama on the court. The Spurs' interior frame protection and interior defense were very powerful. Amen, who was very strong in the frame, could rarely attack the basket, let alone Capela.

While Capela was on the court, his main contributions were frame protection, backcourt rebound protection, offensive rebounding, and Capela's pick-and-roll tactics on the offensive end, and his deterrence on the defensive end.

Capella's characteristics are actually not suitable for the intensity of this game or the opponent of this game.

The most suitable players for Capela to partner with are actually Shepard, the combination of Capela + Shen Jing, and Capela + Amen, which is very space-blocking. When Shen Jing has an offensive threat in the high post, or can shoot three-pointers, the role of Shen Jing + Capela will be infinitely magnified. In this game, Shen Jing made 1 of 6 three-pointers from the outside, which is a lot Sometimes, the opponent lets Shen Jing shoot a three-pointer, but Shen Jing doesn't dare to shoot; in the combination of Capela + Amen, neither of them has strong spatial attributes. Although Amen hit 2 three-pointers in this game, Amen's three-point shooting rate this season is 23%, which is not a qualified space point. What's more, with Amen partnering with Capela, the ghost position inside will be very crowded.

Capela is most suitable to partner with Shepard, but when Capela partners with Shepard, the problem is very obvious. Shepard's defense is very problematic. Capela has no independent offensive ability on the offensive end. Shepard is easily targeted on the defensive end. On the offensive end, Capela will become a point for the opponent to let go. The Rockets are in a four-on-five situation on the offensive end.

Capela performed well in the second quarter, but did not get any playing time in the second half. The most important thing is that Sheppard got only a handful of playing time in the second half, and was reused more in the final stage. However, in the final stage, it was impossible for Uduka to replace Capela, because after that When Uduka replaced Adams + Shen Jing to form a twin-tower lineup, the Rockets exposed many problems on both ends of the offense and defense. In this game, the Rockets were not suitable for a twin-tower lineup. Adams was often not effective in guarding Bunyama alone. Capela's size and height made it even more difficult to guard Bunyama.

In this game, Capela performed well in the first half, but was DNPed by Udoka in the second half. It was not a problem with Capela's performance in the first half, but Capela's characteristics and role, as well as adaptability, which was too much for the lineup. The Rockets lacked a qualified starting point guard. Shepard, who is best suited to partner Capela, was extremely unbalanced on offense and defense. , and Sheppard himself does not have much playing time, especially in the important time period of the second half and key rotations. Uduka will naturally not give Capela playing time. The root of everything is that after VanVleet was injured for the season, the Rockets lacked a qualified starting point guard, which caused Capela's role and value to be greatly reduced under the Rockets' current lineup and staffing.