The lack of rebounding from the LA Clippers’ wings is hurting the team’s chance to reach a new level. If they rebound, they’ll be a great defensive team.
Rebounding has been a problem for the LA Clippers the last two seasons and Doc Rivers addressed it in the preseason when he said, “you have to be a good defensive rebounding team and we were not last year,” to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Basketball is normally looked at as just a two facet game — offense and defense — but rebounding should be considered as the vital third facet.
It comes as a shock to many that a team with DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin finished in the bottom third in rebounding the last two seasons, according to NBA.com (20th in 2014-15 and 25th in 2015-16). If one digs deeper, you find that the problem is not so much with the deadly big man duo, but with the wings.
There is a term a few teams use when it comes to rebounding; it’s called “Gang Rebounding,” meaning all five guys have to pitch in on the boards.
Rebounding is a team approach. It requires all five guys to fight, box out, and hustle for loose balls. Last season, Chris Paul was the fourth leading rebounder for the Clippers at 4.2 a game. When comparing the Clippers’ backcourt and wings to those of the Golden State Warriors, it’s clear why they’ve been to the NBA Finals two years in a row. The Warriors are a great example of gang rebounding.
Clippers Warriors
| Chris Paul | 4.2 | Stephen Curry | 5.4 |
| J.J. Redick | 1.9 | Klay Thompson | 3.8 |
| Jamal Crawford | 1.8 | Andre Iguodala | 4.0 |
| Austin Rivers | 1.9 | Shaun Livingston | 2.2 |
| Luc Mbah a Moute | 2.3 | Harrison Barnes | 4.9 |
| Wesley Johnson | 3.1 | Leandro Barbosa | 1.7 |
The Clippers’ wings and Griffin are guilty of leaking out more often than gaining rebounding position. In the clip below, Griffin contests the three-point shot attempt and leaks out hoping to get an outlet pass for a fast break. Instead, the ball bounced towards the corner and the shooter recovered his own miss. Griffin forgot the old adage that long shots result in long rebounds.
There is nothing more deflating for a defense than coming up with a defensive stand only to have to give up an offensive rebound and have to defend for another possession. Jordan commented on it just before training camp, saying “we play good defense initially and then we give up offensive rebounds and they get second-chance points.”
A prime example happened in the Clippers’ last preseason game against the Sacramento Kings when J.J. Redick leaked out in transition after Ben McLemore took a three and his long shot led to a long rebound. McLemore was able to get his own rebound and that led to an open wing three for the Kings.
Redick, Luc Mbah a Moute, Jamal Crawford, Austin Rivers and Wesley Johnson all averaged three rebounds or less last season. All of these guys have to crash the glass or at the very least box out their man so the bigs can recover the miss.
Too many times an offensive player runs right by these guys and grabs the board, leading to easy scores.
In the play below, Johnson doesn’t put his body on McLemore, mistimed his jump and opened up the door to another offensive board.
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The examples above highlight the problem for the Clippers’ rebounding situation. Gang rebounding needs to be a motto that all the players adopt. Even if they can’t get to the rebound, they must box out their man to make sure the opposing team can’t.
Their defensive efficiency numbers would go up dramatically if they are able to cut down on giving up offensive rebounds.
It is a basic principal, but rebounding is as important to winning games in basketball as special teams is to winning football games.
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The LA Clippers are poised to threaten the Warriors, but they must gang rebound to really put themselves in a position to finish defensive plays. Aggressive offensive rebounding from Griffin and Jordan could also be another decisive factor for them to abuse the Warriors’ lacking size.