So far, the Rockets have been much better with Hartenstein at C versus Capela -- Why?

Hartenstein shot 34% from three in the G-league on just under one attempt a game. So yes more attempts are
what I’m hoping for. Further development.

I didn’t want to give Capela a huge max contract because the league is moving towards centers that shoot 3’s.

This topic has come up recently on another thread, discussing Cousins with the Warriors. I have no doubt Cousins
ability to shoot 3’s will vastly open up the Warriors Offense. Making it more potent and with greater efficiency.
I’m expecting the Achilles’ tendon tear/injury that Cousins experienced last season to help nullify the plus points
offensively while Cousins is on the court because of a minus points result defensively should occur due
to Cousins lack of mobility, especially lateral movement.


Members here told me the Capela contract won’t be a problem because the Rockets can trade Capela after the first
season in attempt to get a 3rd star.
I have mentioned recently trading Capela after this season to make room for Durant and many balked at me.

Capela..............CP3-Harden-Ennis-Tucker (or Gary Clark) = Good team
Hartenstein......CP3-Harden-Durant-Tucker (or Gary Clark) = Gooder team

Just my humble opinion.

Of course Hartenstein needs to continue to improve and become more consistent with his 3’s while
shooting more attempts.
By season’s end we (Rockets) should know more or less if Hartenstein can make the leap towards starter material.
Rock bottom contract of Hartenstein has its benefits and gives the Rockets flexibility.

 

There are so many issues with this line of reasoning.

First of all there is sample size limitation, Hartenstein hasn't played a lot of mins and he primarily sees PT against 2nd units so you can't compare his performance to Capela directly. If Capela gets injured and Hartenstein has to play 30 mpg its possible he is gonna be exposed as a scrub against the best the league has to offer.

Secondly there is the Anderson bias, he sees play when the game isn't on the line. For example Harden and Cp3 are playing like crap, guys like Capela and Gordon will get extended minutes as MDA is counting on them to bail out the team. OTH when everything is clicking and we are blowing the opponent out of the water then thats when Hartenstein gets a lot of mins.

Third is timing, which you have alluded to already. We are playing better as of late and now is also the time Hartenstein has earned the trust of MDA so he is getting lots of mins now compared to before when you have alluded to.

In short while signs are encouraging there is no way in hell Hartenstein is better than Capela or playing Hartenstein leads to better team performance. This is wrong use of data, like when Mavs FO said their stats are showing Kidd was the 2nd best player in the league or David Kahn picked 2 pgs in the lottery and missed out on Curry (lolz).

But regardless I'm happy with Hartenstein's performance si far and am confident we have the backup C problem solved with him and Joe Chee (who has been putting up decent numbers in GLeague).

 

18M is not exactly max contract just look at how much quality bigs are making the league guys like Jokic, Deandre Jordan etc c'mon bro.

Of course many people will balk at trading Capela to make room for Durant you don't even know if he will sign wtf. Hey I know, lets trade Cp3 to make room for Jayson Tatum and trade Capela to make room for Anthony Davis pretty sure those guys will be wearing Rockets Red in 2020

 

There are three max level contracts, 25% of the cap, 30% of the cap and 35% of the cap, most people are talking about at least the 30% of the cap when they say “max”, but Capela is nowhere near a max contract.

Even the lowest max contract would have Capela making another $7-8 million dollars, and then from the 30% max, you’re talking about another $12-13 million, so it’s kind of a HUGE stretch to call his contract a max contract.

 

Sample size...

 

Could this be because Hartenstein plays against the opposing team’s bench versus Capela who plays against the starters mostly?

 

Sorry it appears that roslolian has answered my question

 

My only takeaway from the chart is that the Rockets play fine with Hartenstein on the court. Which is important since Chriss sucks, Nene's old, and Tucker shouldn't be playing center much in the regular season.

 

You remember “War of the Worlds”? Apparently the machines were planted in the earth for a long damned time, just waiting for their operators / pilots to come to earth and mobilize them?

Maybe OP was jopat-holic and this was one of his burner accounts lurking in the weeds? In case of emergency, break glass?

 

Nope.

 

It’s debatable on winning with so much money invested in a big center vs applying it to more skilled positions.

How many championships has DeAndre Jordan won?
How many has Jokic won?

I used Durant as an example of the “Morey chasing that elusive 3rd star”. And what constitutes “Star?”
Durant gives you 34.6 mins and 27.2 pts.
Otto Porter gave you 31.6 mins and 14.7 pts/ game last year.

So not all stars are created equal.

Durant gets you 20plus points per game on a team filled with stars (Warriors)......more than Capela gives us per game.
So in essence how many could Hartenstein give us? Our SF’s give us: Ennis 8.2 pts/gm in 24.3 mins.
Ariza last year gave us: 11.7 pts/ game in 33.9 mins.
Luc MaM gave us 7.5 pts/ game in 25.6 mins.

Understand we put out there SF’s that mainly stand out there as SPOT shooters. Durant would give us more.

Hartenstein was up to 4 pts a game in the last 4 games prior to this last game.....now 3.4 pts a game in the last 5 games
In 11.7 mins. Projected out times 3 in minutes (35.1 mins) and that’s 10.2 pts a game. Or about what our SF’s
give us over the years. So as the last 5 games indicate; possibility of greater improvement as the season goes on,

Commentators are saying over and over again that Harden and CP3 have learned to deliver the ball to Hartenstein
off the bounce as opposed to up high. Thus why his numbers have improved. John lucas will continue working
on his eye-hand coordination.

Again, people may need to come to terms that Capela is our 3rd Star. Thats fine......but soon the Embiid’s, Ayton,
Bagleys will be pulling Capela away from the rim with 5 men out sets while we (Rockets) will be limited.
The playbook opens up tremendously with 5-guys able to shoot.

*last true bigs who couldnt shoot for distance and competed for the championship we’re Bogut and Mozgov.

I believe I looked it up before: Capela (17/18) averaged 32 mins a playoff game until meeting the Warriors....dropped to 28.5 mins. Warriors take advantage of Bigs.....I don’t like so much money
going towards a center. Just me though. I would rather pay Hartenstein his 800 thousand $ if the team
ORtg stays at 120 while on the court.
Just saying.

Edited: 120 points per 100 possessions

 

Hartenstein needs to be replaced.

 

In before ‘Holic

 

Durant is better than Capela you don't need a whole paragraph to deduce that bro.

Your whole assumption is there is an infinite number of Durants just waiting for our money so FO should just dump Capela to make room for Durant. Reality is there is just one KD and nobody knows where he will sign so how dumb is it to get rid of your young center without knowing if KD will come? Give me assurance KD will sign with the Rockets first before you talk about trading away Capela for "more skilled positions" wtf.

You talk about Capela dropping from 35 to 28 mpg but then extrapolate Hartenstein from 11 mins to 35 mins lol. I don't know if you are trolling or not.

Do you realize Jordan Lloyd is shooting 4 pts, 100% FG in 7 mins? Holy ****, if we extrapolate that to 35 mpg he would be scoring 20 pts with 100% 3pt, 100% fg and 100% ft!!!!! Why are we paying James Harden the max when Jordan Lloyd the GOAT shooter is available?

I don't know about you but I would rather pay Jordan Lloyd the vet min and have him shoot 100% FG every game.

Just saying.

 

This is not true. I look at stats constantly. And do initial searches for players at that college level, Euros, gleague, and NBA using my own homespun statistical model. I then pull video and dig down on the player.

Or if someone catches my eye while I'm watching them live then I do a deep dive statistically and with video.

When I said I've got 100 spread sheets I wasn't joking partially. I have many spreadsheet mussels that I use and update to keep my searches fresh.

Go peddle papers hayseed.

 

Agreed. You have to understand how much a three point shooting center combined with 4 other guys that can shoot improves spacing and negates great defenders like Draymond from being a nuisance in the paint. Makes for even more efficient and potent offense than a great PnR center that can't shoot threes or free throws efficiently. 5-out and pick-n-pop are an upgrade to PnR schemes.

 

Basketballoholic burner account confirmed

 

@Clutch and the rest of the board that has two brain cells knows better.

 

man your numbers must be wrong. Every time that fool steps on the court our lead shrinks. You sure you weren't on something while crunching those numbers?

 

Capela is following the strategy. If Ennis or Chris are trying not to switch, then that hesitation is giving their man an extra half second of space, which is hurting the team. Switching (or non-switching) should be done seamlessly and Capela always responds when the other guy communicates.

Still, Capela is a top 2-3 C in the NBA at guarding small players. Teams around the league tried to draft Capela clones this summer. It's incredible to have someone like him.

The reason Hartenstein looks good in these stats is because (1) he's going up against weaker opponents, (2) it's a blowout game or (3) all of the above. He is playing well and taking advantage of his minutes.