On a list of the Houston Rockets' best players, Clint Capela may not even crack the top three. In terms of importance in this playoff run, however, he suddenly soars to the very top.

For NBA fans unfamiliar with his name or game, they were treated to a crash course in just how good Capela is during the first half of his team's series-opening contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves. While Houston was struggling to find their historic range, their big man was stepping up inside, dominating and keeping the team on top.

Capela comes to town

Even when breaking down the big men in this series, Capela isn't the first to come to mind.

Minnesota has one of the best young big men in basketball in Karl-Anthony Towns. On Saturday night, however, it was all about the Rockets big man. As Houston bricked three-pointer after three-pointer, Capela set himself in position to tip in misses, leading to a dominant first half.

By the time the buzzer sounded on the first half, Capela had what would've been considered a strong stat line for a full game: 18 points and seven rebounds. The best team during the regular season only led by seven points at the half, so they needed every ounce of effort from the big man.

Things settled down for him in the second half as the Rockets began to knock down their shots, with James Harden taking over.

Still, Capela continued to make his presence felt. He finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks, while his counterpart didn't even reach double-digit scoring, leading to questions about his aggressiveness.

Rockets ramp up attack

While Capela played well, the Rockets remain a team that live and die by the three-pointer.

During the first half, it certainly seemed as if it was going to be the latter. In the first quarter, the team made just two-three pointers. Just another two fell in the second quarter. Three of the four came from the hands of Harden, while just one came from Chris Paul.

That became emblematic of the night as a whole, with Houston making just 12 percent of their three-point attempts not chucked up by Harden.

Nevertheless, Harden lit up the scoreboard, dropping 44 points and dominating on his home court. He made seven of his twelve three-point attempts, icing the game again and again when Minnesota kept it close. When the rest of the team follows his lead and starts putting down three-pointers, Houston is going to be extremely challenging to beat.
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