Doc Rivers does not believe in offensive rebounding – NBA News
For a team that has been a constant contender in the Eastern Conference over the past few seasons, the Boston Celtics are one of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA. The Celtics particularly are very poor in offensive rebounding,
and are averaging 6.5 offensive rebounds and 35.8 rebounds this season. They are getting outrebounded by six per game, and are at the bottom of the table in the NBA in offensive rebounding.
This season, the Celtics have only grabbed 16.9 percent of available offensive rebounds, which is the lowest in the history of the league. Last season, they averaged 19.7 percent, which is now the second lowest in the history of
the league. To put it simply, the Celtics are not a good rebounding team and rarely grab offensive rebounds. And now we know why that is the case. The Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers recently said that he does not worry about offensive rebounds and would rather
his team get back on defence.
“We have no problem with offensive rebounds. I have a bigger problem if you’re standing outside that paint and you go forward and don’t get it. Then you just gave up a bucket in our league,” said Rivers.
The Celtics are playing small ball this season with Kevin Garnett playing the five and the team without a true power forward in the line-up. Among the Celtics big men, Brandon Bass is the best offensive rebounder, and Kevin Garnett
averages the most total rebounds per game in the roster. However, that is still not enough for them to compete with some of the bigger teams in the NBA. Over the past few seasons, the Celtics were able to cover up their rebounding deficiencies by playing excellent
defence. However, this season the Celtics are not playing the same level of defence, having allowed the fourth highest field goal percentage so far this season.
“You’re a big believer in offensive rebounds, I think. I’m not. Listen, like I said, you can pick on that all you want. That is a number I rarely look at, is offensive rebounds. Statistically, it holds up. I can tell you, you don’t
offensive rebound, you stop transition, you win more games than when you get offensive rebounds. I can guarantee you that on those stats,” said Rivers while talking to a reporter.
Although the Celtics biggest problem so far this season has been their defence, their lack of rebounding, particularly on the offensive end, makes it difficult for them to compete with other teams in the league and give the opposition
an edge before the game even starts.
Tags: