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Interview Clint Capela: “I feel like we are much better defensively”

With his eleven NBA seasons, Clint Capela is one of the most capped players in the Atlanta locker room. And despite the Hawks' heavy defeat at Golden State, the pivot was positive compared to his team's start to the season. We asked him to draw an initial assessment and to describe his relationship with Zaccharie Risacher.

Clint, we are approaching the first quarter of the season, how do you judge your start to the season? Where are you? What assessment do you draw from this first month of the season?

Ups and downs, we continue to search for our chemistry. Tonight it was a little harder but I think we feel that this team is different from last year, there is potential. We lost tonight but if you look at the last five games, it was pretty positive and I think we're on the right track, especially if we keep in mind what we were able to do in Sacramento.

You talk about the difference defensively, even if it was difficult tonight, we feel that you have more assets this season than in recent years. What is your feeling about your defensive potential?

Yes, we are big, we are long in almost all positions, we have Dyson Daniels in this role of designated defender of the best opponent outside. I think we are really better than last season on this point or at least our potential is higher. For example, being able to keep Sacramento at home below 110 points is good. It’s a performance on which we can build, on which we can build good habits. It's very encouraging.

“I think that Zaccharie Risacher has adapted really well to the NBA game. He is aggressive, he works hard, he listens, he is focused. And then, he also adapts well to the rhythm of the NBA”

Have your defensive schemes evolved to take advantage of the squad you have this season?

Not particularly, but I think we are more confident. We are more aggressive on the carrier. Where we must take a step forward is in our consistency. We still have a lot of slumps which are hurting us. This was the case tonight against the Warriors. So obviously, we can't be perfect in every match but I feel that we are still better than last season. So I haven't looked at the numbers but that's my feeling (they were the 27th defensive rating last year, with 118.4 points conceded per 100 possessions, and they are 20th at the moment with 115.0 points conceded per 100 possessions) . As a last line of defense, I feel we are much better off.

Zacharie Risacher arrived in Atlanta as the first pick of the Draft. How do you think he manages to manage the pressure that comes with this honorary status?

He handles it really well. I think he has adapted really well to the NBA game. He is aggressive, he works hard, he listens, he is focused. And then, he also adapts well to the pace of the NBA. People often forget that but the sequence of matches, the travel, it's really different from France. He has entered the major five, he has enormous potential, it is really very encouraging.

Are you his official vet?

Yeah, yeah, it's me. I talk to him a lot, I show him the cities, I take him to restaurants, all that. And I like it, we can speak French in the locker room, on the bus. We discuss our experiences in France. He was in Bourg and Asvel, I was in Chalon sur Saone, so we are quite close.

Comments collected in San Francisco.

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