It is no secret that the Houston Rockets are not shy about attempting 3-pointers during games. They’ve even had some outings where they jacked up at least 50 shots from beyond the arc as they have a plethora of players in their lineup who can knock it down from that distance efficiently.
However, what many have not been noticing much is that James Harden and Clint Capela have also been connecting on a lot of alley-oops throughout the season. It may be overshadowed by their 3-point shots, but they are the duo with the most number of completed lob passes in the league today, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN via Elias Sports Bureau.
Seven of James Harden’s 13 assists against the Mavericks were to Clint Capela, including a lob from about 40 feet that was so good it made Mike D’Antoni laugh. “Every time I’m wide open, James throw it,” Capela said. “This is what I love about him. He never hesitates. … It’s always fun to play with him. It’s good to have him back.” Harden has 106 assists to Capela this season, including 49 on lobs, by far the most of any duo in the league, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
It also does not come as a surprise that Capela is the primary target of Harden on offense, as he sets him up on nine shots per 100 possessions, per Ben Alamar of ESPN.
Per @SecondSpectrum Capella is Harden’s top target- setting him up for 9 shots per 100 possessions.
— Ben Alamar (@BenAlamarESPN) January 25, 2018
The Rockets are currently second in the Western Conference with a 34-12 record. There is growing belief that they could pose the toughest challenge to the Golden State Warriors this season and could even dethrone them. With their high-octane offense composed of accuracy from 3-point distance, coupled with Harden and Capela’s lob pass success rate, they may just do it this year and compete for the title in the Finals.
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