Following the Houston Rockets' victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, Houston center Clint Capela declared his team better than the defending champions.
Specifically, Capela said (H/T Yahoo Sports), "We're confident because we know if we're doing what we're supposed to do, we're going to beat them ... we are better than them."
Kevin Durant was asked about Capela's comments after today's shootaround, and he downplayed the big man's role in the Rockets' success.
"It's all a part of the game. They beat us twice this year. They should feel confident. Obviously, we're confident and we feel as though we are the best team in the league and we can beat anybody as well. But we can be beat. We can be beat on any night if we don't come to play."
"You hear that from guys like Capela -- who's usually catching the ball and laying it up from CP (Chris Paul) or James Harden. His job is not as hard. When your job is that hard, you know you can't come out there and just say shit like that."
"I don't expect that from CP and James and Ariza and the rest of the guys because they know how hard it is to come out there and do that every night. Capela -- catch and dunk every night so it's pretty easy for him."
As KD noted during today's media session, the Rockets have already beaten the Warriors twice this season. That said, Golden State still has a 3.5 game lead over Houston for the top spot in the Western Conference.
The two teams won't see each other again this season, unless they see each other in the playoffs.