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RotoBaller NBA Recap: The Clint Capela Show

Welcome to the RotoBaller NBA Recap. In this feature, we highlight three fantasy basketball takeaways from last night's slate of NBA games. Monday night featured eight games, with a clash between the Rockets and Nuggets highlighting the night. Houston won that one with a pair of 30-plus point performances from James Harden and Clint Capela, while the Nuggets continued to get good production from bench guards like Monte Morris and Malik Beasley but weren't able to come away with a win.

Elsewhere in the NBA, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich tied former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan for third place on the career wins list. San Antonio did it with strong games from DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge, plus another good outing from Derrick White, whose continued strong play makes him a strong waiver wire target. And in news that's not quite as fantasy relevant, the Pelicans won back-to-back games for the first time in over a month, and Jahlil Okafor was an important part of it, finishing with nine points and seven rebounds. Anthony Davis was a more important part (36 points and 13 rebounds), and the Pelicans continue to play very well with Elfrid Payton active: they're now 7-1 when Payton plays at least 20 minutes.

Our three main fantasy takeaways of the night are still to come, so without further ado, let's take a deeper dive into January 7th.

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Clint Capela Has First 30-Point Game

Clint Capela is a very good NBA player, but until Monday night he'd never scored 30 points in an NBA game. That makes sense, because Capela's purely an interior big man on the offensive end, a guy who is 0-for-2 in his career from deep and has taken just 1.1 percent of his twos this year from outside of 10 feet. For Capela to score, he has to get the ball near the basket, and in 2019 that's not a recipe for scoring a boatload of points.

But Capela scored 31 points on Monday, breaking his career high of 29 points that he set on January 3rd. With Eric Gordon sidelined, Houston has had to find other ways of creating offense, and some of that has fallen on Capela. Against Denver, he was able to make plays at the basket against Denver center Nikola Jokic, and it was a big difference maker in the game.

Capela's recent usage has been a big part of the Rockets turning around a disappointing season, and that should continue for the time being, especially with Houston lacking many options behind Capela. While he's not been the same switchable defender he was last year, he's still doing enough to keep him on the floor, and he's blowing past his previous career high in minutes.

 

It's Time To Pay Attention To Rodions Kurucs

Someone in your league has picked up Rodions Kurucs by now, right? Brooklyn's second-round pick has now started 13 games for the Nets, and after some struggles as a scorer lately, Monday reminded us of why he'd carved out that role with this team.

Kurucs scored 24 points on 8-for-15 shooting and made five three-pointers. And while he didn't really make an impact in non-scoring fantasy categories, his performance should still open some eyes. With the Nets extremely short-handed on Monday and forced to give Shabazz Napier a start at shooting guard, Kurucs took control with D'Angelo Russell struggling and was Brooklyn's most important player on the night.

Maybe the big news from Kurucs is those five threes, though. Kurucs has struggled at times from behind the arc, but since 2019 started he's figured some things out, going 9-for-18 from deep across four games. It's a small sample size, but if Kurucs can start to consistently drain these shots from the outside, his entire outlook shifts. He goes from being a promising player with a few too many holes to a guy who fits perfectly with what head coach Kenny Atkinson wants to do. Keep an eye on how his shot develops.

 

What Do We Think About Donovan Mitchell?

A lot of people have taken to jokingly calling Donovan Mitchell "Monta Mitchell" on Twitter lately because Mitchell's been playing like the 2019 version of Monta Ellis instead of like the future star that he looked like after a rookie season where he finished as the runner up to Ben Simmons for Rookie of the Year.

On Monday, we got to see the best and worst of Mitchell in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

The second-year player was 6-for-12 from deep on Monday on his way to 26 points, but that also left him with just a 2-for-12 mark from two-point range. Mitchell finished with a field goal percentage of 33.3, his 11th time this season to shoot that mark or worse from the field. That happened 18 times during his rookie season, but 10 of those came in the 2017 section of the season as Mitchell got his shot together once he was used to the NBA game.

But this season, Mitchell's inefficiency has really reared its ugly head, and while fantasy owners are happy that his raw scoring seems to be returning, they've got to be worried about his field goal percentage, and about the fact that there's been no increase in rebounds or assists. Even Mitchell's free throw percentage is down this season.

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REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Cal Raleigh

Continues Historic Homer Pace Tuesday
Jacob Wilson

Exits Early On Tuesday With Left Hand Contusion
Scottie Scheffler

Headlines Field at Genesis Scottish Open
Rory McIlroy

a Smart Play for Scottish Open
Adam Scott

Looking to Build on History at The Renaissance Club
NASCAR

Sepp Straka Not Likely to Find Momentum at Scottish Open
Justin Rose

Hopes Month Hiatus Helps Him Bounce Back at Scottish Open
Laken Tomlinson

Confident in Texans Offensive Line
J.K. Dobbins

the Starter in Denver?
JT Woods

Seahawks Release JT Woods
Darren Waller

Trade to Miami Becomes Official
Asante Samuel Jr.

Dolphins Interested in Asante Samuel Jr.
Nyheim Hines

Seeking Return to NFL
Dak Prescott

Expects to be Full-Go for Training Camp
Ajay Mitchell

Posts 16 Points in Summer League Win on Monday
Milwaukee Bucks

Vasilije Micic Waived by Bucks
Brice Sensabaugh

Logs 37 points in Summer League Win on Monday
Luis Garcia

Fans Four in Rehab Outing
GG Jackson II

Collects 27 Points in Summer League Loss
Ace Bailey

Scores 18 Points in Summer League Victory
NHL

Tyler Johnson Retires After 13 NHL Seasons
Jack McBain

Inks New Five-Year Deal with Mammoth
Cam York

Re-Signs with Flyers for Five Years
Kobe Bufkin

Cleared for Summer League Action
Jake Knapp

Fits the Mold for Success at The Renaissance Club
Milwaukee Bucks

Vasilije Micic Agrees to Contract Buyout with Bucks
PGA

Sungjae Im Still a Liability at Scottish Open
James Wiseman

Pacers Bring Back James Wiseman
Ludvig Aberg

is a Solid Option at Scottish Open
Tyrese Haliburton

to Miss Entire 2025-26 Campaign
Paolo Banchero

Signs Historic Five-Year Extension with Magic
Anthony Santander

Hoping to Hit Soon
Luis Robert Jr.

Returning in Short Order
Alex Bregman

Could Return Later This Week
Ketel Marte

Day-to-Day with Groin Tightness
Ty Gibbs

Finishes Second at Chicago and Advances in In-Season Challenge
Alex Bowman

Defeats Bubba Wallace in In-Season Challenge, but Not Without Controversy
Alex Bowman

Bubba Wallace Wrecked by Alex Bowman Again, Putting Playoffs in Doubt
Michael McDowell

Throttle Failure Ends Michael McDowell's Chances to Win at Chicago
Austin Hill

Earns First NASCAR Cup Series Top Ten at Chicago
Tyler Reddick

Scores a Strong Third-Place Run at Chicago
Kyle Busch

Matches his Best Career Finish At Chicago on Sunday
Denny Hamlin

Fights his Way to a Top-5 Finish at Chicago
William Byron

has his Worst Weekend of the Season at Chicago
Hunter Greene

Suffers Setback on Monday
Kyle Lowry

Staying With 76ers
Kyle Anderson

Lands in Utah
Kevin Love

Traded to Jazz in 3-Team Swap
Norman Powell

Traded to Miami
John Collins

Dealt to Clippers
J.J. Spaun

Finishes Tied For 14 at Travelers Championship
Xander Schauffele

Finishes Tied For 61 at Travelers Championship
Collin Morikawa

Finishes Tied For Eighth at Rocket Mortgage Classic
Robert MacIntyre

Finishes Tied For 17 at Travelers Championship
Si Woo Kim

Finishes Tied For 11 at John Deere Classic
Viktor Hovland

Withdraws From Travelers Championship
Tommy Fleetwood

Finishes Tied For Second at Travelers Championship
Brian Campbell

Wins John Deere Classic
Bronny James Jr.

Scores 10 Points
Harrison Ingram

Limited on Sunday
Golden State Warriors

Isaiah Mobley Drops 16 Points
Ryan Rollins

Staying with Bucks
T.J. Watt

Pittsburgh Still Not Close on New Contract
Terry McLaurin

Still Not Pleased with Contract Situation
Sonny Milano

on Track to Be Ready for Training Camp
Yu Darvish

to Make Season Debut on Monday
MLB

Nationals Fire Dave Martinez, Mike Rizzo
Jakub Dobes

Signs Two-Year Deal with Canadiens
KaVontae Turpin

Arrested on Two Charges
Cole Ragans

to Begin Throwing on Monday
Theo Johnson

Prioritizing his Health this Offseason
Andrés Giménez

Andres Gimenez Hits 10-Day Injured List
Jermaine Burton

Continues to Show Growth
NHL

Hendrix Lapierre Signs One-Year Deal with Capitals
Carson Hocevar

Should DFS Players Consider Carson Hocevar for Chicago Lineups?
Tye Kartye

Kraken Re-Sign Tye Kartye for Two Years
Ross Chastain

May be A Decent DFS Option for Chicago Lineups
Dmitri Voronkov

Signs Two-Year, $8.35 Million Extension with Blue Jackets
Ryan Preece

Should DFS Players Roster Ryan Preece at Chicago?
Austin Dillon

Is Too Great of A Risk to Add to Chicago Lineups
Zane Smith

Is A Value Play Worth Rostering At Chicago
Austin Hill

is A Favorable Value Option for Chicago DFS Lineups
Ty Dillon

Is Ty Dillon A Decent Driver to Add For NASCAR DFS At Chicago?
William Byron

Qualifying Crash Makes William Byron a Likely DFS Must-Have
Alex Bowman

Should Finish Well, but Probably Costs Too Much for Serious DFS Consideration
Joey Logano

Has Been Relatively Mediocre on Road Courses Lately
Ryan Blaney

Doesn't Really Fit Neatly into Optimal DFS Lineups
Cam Ward

"Not Expecting" to be handed Starting Job
Chase Claypool

Eager to Get Back on the Field
Wyatt Langford

Activated, Playing on Saturday
Jay Huff

on the Move to Indiana
Cam Whitmore

Wizards Acquire Cam Whitmore from the Rockets
LaJohntay Wester

Stands out on Special Teams
Clarke Schmidt

Likely to Undergo Tommy John Surgery
Nolan Arenado

Scratched from Saturday's Lineup
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Starting on Saturday
Corbin Carroll

Activated from 10-Day Injured List
Cincinnati Bengals

Shemar Stewart, Bengals Continue Contract Talks, No Progress Made
Ha-Seong Kim

Removed Early During Season Debut
ARI

Christian Fischer Retires From NHL at 28
NHL

Spencer Martin Moves to Russia
WAS

Anthony Beauvillier Re-Signs With Capitals for Two Years
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Sitting Out With Foot Issue
Isaiah Neyor

Impresses at Minicamp
Bo Bichette

Back in Blue Jays Lineup
Miles Sanders

Works With Starters During Mandatory Minicamp
Chimere Dike

Titans Could Move Chimere Dike Inside
Keandre Lambert-Smith

KeAndre Lambert-Smith not Guaranteed Roster Spot
Anthony Bradford

Working Hard to Win Back Starting Job
Clarke Schmidt

Placed on Injured List
SJ

Sharks Claim Nick Leddy Off Waivers
SJ

Sharks Sign Dmitry Orlov to Two-Year, $13 Million Contract
CAR

Nikolaj Ehlers Joins Hurricanes on Six-Year Contract
COL

Brent Burns Inks One-Year Deal with Avalanche
STL

Blues Land Pius Suter on Two-Year Deal
Morgan Frost

Agrees to Two-Year Extension with Flames
WPG

Gustav Nyquist Moves to Winnipeg
Cody Glass

Devils Re-Sign Cody Glass to Two-Year Deal
PIT

Anthony Mantha Joins Penguins
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