Rockets center expects to take down Warriors

The Houston Rockets have the best record in the NBA at 22-4, and it has inspired one of their players to call out the defending champions.

In an interview with Dave Schilling of Bleacher Report that was published on Wednesday, Rockets center Clint Capela spoke about how he thinks the team measures up to the Golden State Warriors, whom the Rockets currently lead by one full game in the standings.

“We have to keep the advantage on them, by leading the Western Conference,” said Capela. “It’s going to be key for us to have home-court advantage in the playoffs. To go over there [to Oakland] is obviously hard. That advantage is going to be key for us.

“I expect to beat them,” added the Swiss big man.

Toppling the Warriors is obviously on every team’s mind this season, and the Rockets have reason to be confident; their length, playmaking, and three-point shooting help them match up especially well with Golden State. They also won their first meeting of the season on opening night despite losing star guard Chris Paul to injury. Capela himself is enjoying a career year with 13.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game as Houston’s starting center.

The idea that the Warriors aren’t invincible is actually a fairly popular one throughout the rest of the Western Conference this season, so perhaps Capela and the Rockets can make like LaVar Ball here and speak it into existence.