Rebounds kill the LA Clippers
The LA Clippers started Game 3 off on the wrong foot, trailing the Golden State Warriors by 17 points after the first quarter. In addition to that big difference, the Clippers were being outdone in another area of the game as well: Rebounding.
Through the first 12 minutes of the game, the Clippers were out-rebounded 3-13 — a poor mark considering they ranked 13th in the league this season in rebounds per game. At night’s end, the Warriors had only won the rebounding battle by seven, but the damage had already been done by then. Add to it that the Clippers had 20 rebounds in the fourth quarter to Golden State’s 12, and it’s easy to see how lopsided this was.
Andrew Bogut, starting in place of the injured DeMarcus Cousins, was particularly effective on the boards for Golden State. According to Basketball Reference, he registered a total rebound percentage of 28.8 in 25 minutes on the floor, and a 20.7 percent mark in offensive rebound percentage. His 14 rebounds were a team-high, and one off from Ivica Zubac’s game-high 15.
Part of LA’s problem here is size. Golden State’s smallest starter is Stephen Curry, who stands a few inches over six feet. After him it’s Klay Thompson, who stands 6-foot-7. The Clippers just don’t have the size to keep up.
And where the Clippers do have size, they have other issues. Zubac hasn’t been great in this series so far, and has been completely unplayable against Golden State’s starting five. A better idea could be to slide JaMychal Green in as the starting center, since he’s played with plenty of energy and has been a solid rebounder through the first three games.
Green could also help the starters get going by giving the defense one more man to focus on, and he’d open the paint up for his teammates with his three-point shot.