4. OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING AND DOMINATING THE GLASS
Just as loss of McGee and Howard resulted in less rim protection on defense and vertical gravity on offense, Lakers’ offensive rebounding stats declined with Gasol, Harrell, and Drummond last season.https://t.co/ePkkGvhwug pic.twitter.com/bgEmoPd7jU
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 7, 2021
4. OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING AND DOMINATING THE GLASS
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September 7, 2021 3 Comments
Size is great to have but it needs to be the right kind of size. With Gasol, Harrell, and Drummond, the Lakers had size but the fit was not ideal. None of the three centers were plus defenders, rebounders, or low post scorers. The result was the Lakers lost ground in dunks, blocks, and rebounds.
Rebounding no longer seems to be appreciated but it is still a key to winning. You can play 24 seconds of great defense and then blow it all by not securing the defensive boards. Similarly, you can’t run or get early offense without grabbing the rebound to start your offense.
I think the Lakers rebounding will be dramatically improved, especially at the offensive end. Do you agree or disagree?
I have to say this one area where Drummond actually excelled as a Laker as he pulled down 3 OR and over 12 RPG as a Laker. The man could clean the glass, just didn’t have much else to contribute and I also believe a lot of that was due to him not getting much time to get in sync with our stars. I’m happy he’s playing in Philly. So I don’t really agree that our offensive rebounding will significantly improve, probably stay about where it was as Russ is an elite rebounder at the guard spot but we’ve lost a lot of overall size in the paint and switched it with rangy length which does not translate into better rebounding.
As I’ve said several times I think our defense took a large hit this offseason and if it stays top ten it means Frank has done a helluva job getting buy-in from guy who are not traditionally good defenders. I think our blocked shots per game should go up. With AD healthy, Dwight and Russ we have some athletic guys who hunt out moments to block shots and have a nose for it. After that…I don’t see too many plus shot blocker type on the roster.
Similarly with defensive rebounds. Dwight can’t box everyone out so that will lead us down the “how much is Davis REALLY going to bang bodies?” path. I have always had a hard time believing stripes have changed until I’ve seen it so I’m betting on the “not as much as some want/expect” road. I think we may end up having rebounding issues on this team as outside of Russ, LeBron, AD and Dwight we don’t have players with a rebounding mentality.
Good point about Drummond’s rebounding. Problem was he was not a good rim protector or lob target. Dwight and DeAndre will be a big upgrade from that standpoint.
Having trustworthy rim protection regardless of whom we have on the floor is the key to improving our defense. Last season, we only saw AD at the five for 10% in the regular season and 20% in the playoffs. Otherwise, we had zero rim protection from Marc and Trezz. That will change this year.
Rebounding is still a big part of the game today and critical for a team like the Lakers who are not going to outshoot other teams. We may outscore other teams by attacking the rim, running in transition, and dominating the glass but we’re not going to outshoot the Nets for example.