Let this sink in, Hawks are one of NBA’s best rebounding teams

[JTB]

The Hawks are one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA.

Let that sink in for a little while.

 

 

 

Does one player — namely Dwight Howard — make all the difference? Maybe. Maybe not. But early in the season, the Hawks have done a complete turnaround in the statistical area that has long been an issue for the team.

The Hawks are seventh in the NBA in rebounding, with a 46.1 per game average. Last season, they finished 24th, with a 42.1 per game average.

“One person helps a lot,” Paul Millsap said Friday. “Dwight is definitely one of the top rebounders. But our strategy and scheme is we are going to the glass a little more. We have the freedom to get to the glass more. I think that helps out.”

Much of the Hawks’ new-found rebounding has been on the offensive glass. They rank fifth in the league, with 11.8 offensive rebounds per game. Last season, they were the league’s worst team, with 8.3 per game.

Howard ranks fourth in the NBA, at 12.6 rebounds per game, but first in offensive rebounds, with 4.9 per game. That has made a significant difference.

“The effort by everybody to rebound has been good, but particularly (in) their effort on the offensive boards there is a real noticeable difference,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “It’s not just Dwight. (Mike Muscala), Kris Humphries and Paul (Millsap), that collection of bigs is making a conscientious effort to be better on the offensive boards. It’s been a real positive for us. Transition defense is a real priority, and our guards have to be great in transition, but we’ve been a better rebounding team this year. It’s early. We’ve got to keep it up.”

The Hawks (6-2) have had at least one double-digit rebounder in every game this season. Howard has done it seven times. The one game he did not do it, Humphries did. Millsap has three double-digit rebound games this season.

Last season, the Hawks played only 43 games with at least one double-digit rebounder. Millsap had 33 double-digit games. The Hawks also had Al Horford (18), Kent Bazemore (4), Mike Scott (1) and Thabo Sefolosha (1) with such performances.

Early this season, the Hawks have outrebounded opponents 46.1-39.5. Last season, they were outrebounded by a 46.5-42.1 margin.

“At the end of the day, and I think we showed last year, that our defense can be really good, but if you don’t come down with the rebound it will hurt you,” Millsap said. “It will hurt you in the long run. Being a good defensive team and being able to secure the rebound when you get a defensive stop is big.”

It’s not just the Hawks’ bigs who have helped with rebounds. Budenholzer has always put an emphasis that guards also have to be involved. He said Friday that he is pleased with the play of the guards, especially when they are available after the bigs protect the rim or attempt to block shots.

In their eight games, the Hawks have out-rebounded the opposition in seven games. Only the Lakers in their second-half comeback win out-rebounded the Hawks.

“In general we are doing a better job of keeping bodies on (players) and keeping guys in front of us more,” Budenholzer said.

 

 

http://www.ajc.com/sports/basketball/let-this-sink-hawks-are-one-nba-best-rebounding-teams/Dkv7CvIV58SwunFGAKmtAL/

 

 

Edited November 11, 2016 by JTB

[JTB]

I don't care how big of fan you are of horford this is a got damn shame and crime....

 

"Last season, the Hawks played only 43 games with at least one double-digit rebounder. Millsap had 33 double-digit games. The Hawks also had Al Horford (18), Kent Bazemore (4), Mike Scott (1) and Thabo Sefolosha (1) with such performances."

 

I didn't know this information until reading this article. That really pisses me off that our starting center had 18 games where he had double digits in rebounding last year....damn shame.

 

 

[SalvorMallow]

19 minutes ago, JTB said:

I don't care how big of fan you are of horford this is a got damn shame and crime....

 

"Last season, the Hawks played only 43 games with at least one double-digit rebounder. Millsap had 33 double-digit games. The Hawks also had Al Horford (18), Kent Bazemore (4), Mike Scott (1) and Thabo Sefolosha (1) with such performances."

 

I didn't know this information until reading this article. That really pisses me off that our starting center had 18 games where he had double digits in rebounding last year....damn shame.

 

 

LOL, pointguards have more than 18 double digit rebound games in a season.  This is downright embarrassing.

[pimp]

1 hour ago, JTB said:

I don't care how big of fan you are of horford this is a got damn shame and crime....

 

"Last season, the Hawks played only 43 games with at least one double-digit rebounder. Millsap had 33 double-digit games. The Hawks also had Al Horford (18), Kent Bazemore (4), Mike Scott (1) and Thabo Sefolosha (1) with such performances."

 

I didn't know this information until reading this article. That really pisses me off that our starting center had 18 games where he had double digits in rebounding last year....damn shame.

 

 

umm , how did you not know that.? lol
not counting the playoffs...
Horford had more games of  4 rebounds or less  than he had of 10 or more rebounds.
20 times last year Horford had 4 or fewer rebounds.
6 times he had 3 or less rebounds
4 times he had 2 rebounds or less
2 times he only had 1 rebound lol

[RandomFan]

You highlighted some portions of the article, but I think you overlooked highlighting the important parts that help answer your question if one player makes that much of a difference. 

 

1 hour ago, JTB said:

Does one player — namely Dwight Howard — make all the difference?

“One person helps a lot,” Paul Millsap said Friday. “Dwight is definitely one of the top rebounders. But our strategy and scheme is we are going to the glass a little more. We have the freedom to get to the glass more. I think that helps out.”

“At the end of the day, and I think we showed last year, that our defense can be really good, but if you don’t come down with the rebound it will hurt you,” Millsap said. “It will hurt you in the long run. Being a good defensive team and being able to secure the rebound when you get a defensive stop is big.”

 

Another recent article pointed out how different our defensive scheme is when Dwight is on the floor (basically a more traditional defense with a rim protector where all 5 guys don't have to play on a string and blitz all over the court covering for each other.) When we had to play that style of defense because with Horford not being a true rim protector, it was a successful brand of defense; but it had the side effect of hurting our rebounding because of how everyone would be positioned and how the bigs couldn't focus on boxing people out of the paint. I remember Korver recently commenting how nice it is that he doesn't have to dive into bigs as much anymore to try and help chip them for rebounds.

We still have to play that way when Dwight goes to the bench, but with Dwight we are so much better at being able to play good defense AND also be in better position for rebounds. With Dwight it also makes it less important to stop the offensive player out on the perimeter like it was before. Obviously, it's still important to do so if possible. But with Dwight it's not as big of a deal as it used to be if there is penetration because he is much better at altering and blocking shots near the rim than anything we've had since at least Mutombo. 

That's why I laugh when a certain poster keeps trying to move Kyle to the bench because of his poor man to man defense. Well, having him on the court at the same time as Dwight is the best way to help cover up subpar one on one defense! Putting Kyle on the court with a backup center that can't do what Dwight does just exposes him more...

But to answer your question about does one man make that much of a difference? Yes. Because that one man allows us to play a completely different defensive scheme equally as effective as our old scheme, which in turn allows us to focus more on rebounding the ball. 

Edited November 12, 2016 by RandomFan

[thecampster]

2 hours ago, JTB said:

I don't care how big of fan you are of horford this is a got damn shame and crime....

 

"Last season, the Hawks played only 43 games with at least one double-digit rebounder. Millsap had 33 double-digit games. The Hawks also had Al Horford (18), Kent Bazemore (4), Mike Scott (1) and Thabo Sefolosha (1) with such performances."

 

I didn't know this information until reading this article. That really pisses me off that our starting center had 18 games where he had double digits in rebounding last year....damn shame.

 

 

You don't read my posts a lot do you?

[Guest]

It's pimp $hit Hoe!

 

lol jk ya we be boarding. Yehaaa saddle up and ride.

[JTB]

1 hour ago, pimp said:

umm , how did you not know that.? lol
not counting the playoffs...
Horford had more games of  4 rebounds or less  than he had of 10 or more rebounds.
20 times last year Horford had 4 or fewer rebounds.
6 times he had 3 or less rebounds
4 times he had 2 rebounds or less
2 times he only had 1 rebound lol

Honestly I thought he had more than 18 but I probably knew when the season ended. Lol

[JTB]

28 minutes ago, thecampster said:

You don't read my posts a lot do you?

Lol no really I do, I read everyone's post , I'm just in a bit of a shock to read that stat line then I  think about how much money he gets per year...it's really amusing.

 

but I'm sure I knew this and just forgot 

Edited November 12, 2016 by JTB

[thecampster]

Seriously though, I've proposed numerous 5's in the last few years, willing to move Al to the 4 where I didn't feel he'd be overmatched. Always focusing on rebounding as our most serious flaw. The main reason I liked smooth was his defense and rebounding.

[JTB]

1 hour ago, RandomFan said:

You highlighted some portions of the article, but I think you overlooked highlighting the important parts that help answer your question if one player makes that much of a difference. 

 

Another recent article pointed out how different our defensive scheme is when Dwight is on the floor (basically a more traditional defense with a rim protector where all 5 guys don't have to play on a string and blitz all over the court covering for each other.) When we had to play that style of defense because with Horford not being a true rim protector, it was a successful brand of defense; but it had the side effect of hurting our rebounding because of how everyone would be positioned and how the bigs couldn't focus on boxing people out of the paint. I remember Korver recently commenting how nice it is that he doesn't have to dive into bigs as much anymore to try and help chip them for rebounds.

We still have to play that way when Dwight goes to the bench, but with Dwight we are so much better at being able to play good defense AND also be in better position for rebounds. With Dwight it also makes it less important to stop the offensive player out on the perimeter like it was before. Obviously, it's still important to do so if possible. But with Dwight it's not as big of a deal as it used to be if there is penetration because he is much better at altering and blocking shots near the rim than anything we've had since at least Mutombo. 

That's why I laugh when a certain poster keeps trying to move Kyle to the bench because of his poor man to man defense. Well, having him on the court at the same time as Dwight is the best way to help cover up subpar one on one defense! Putting Kyle on the court with a backup center that can't do what Dwight does just exposes him more...

But to answer your question about does one man make that much of a difference? Yes. Because that one man allows us to play a completely different defensive scheme equally as effective as our old scheme, which in turn allows us to focus more on rebounding the ball. 

No I saw that part trust me but I still don't think it's a great excuse at least not good enough and I used the excuse last year but the thing is at times when we needed to crash the boards we couldn't even if we wanted to...I just can't believe that our game plan never changed during games. I'm  sure bud switched it up and told them to crash the boards when we were getting beat down on boards which was often and that starts with horford.

horford was worried about his money also, he wasn't about to get physical only to possibly tear another titty.

[JTB]

6 minutes ago, thecampster said:

Seriously though, I've proposed numerous 5's in the last few years, willing to move Al to the 4 where I didn't feel he'd be overmatched. Always focusing on rebounding as our most serious flaw. The main reason I liked smooth was his defense and rebounding.

I personally always felt smith under achevied on the boards as well and thought he could do a lot better. Then again he avg around 8 from what I can remember which isn't too bad honestly.

[hazer]

Smoove would avg double rebounds on this team coming off the bench at the 4. That's just a hypothetical since his name was brought up, no I'm not advocating 

[capstone21]

1 hour ago, hazer said:

Smoove would avg double rebounds on this team coming off the bench at the 4. That's just a hypothetical since his name was brought up, no I'm not advocating 

Smith sucks ... he has a low bbiq and a lot of his athleticism that his game was based on is gone 

[Thomas]

Whatever athleticism he does have will probably be enough to help him get major stats in China. He just needs to stay closer to the basket on offense for obvious reasons.  

[AHF]

On November 11, 2016 at 9:26 PM, JTB said:

No I saw that part trust me but I still don't think it's a great excuse at least not good enough and I used the excuse last year but the thing is at times when we needed to crash the boards we couldn't even if we wanted to...I just can't believe that our game plan never changed during games. I'm  sure bud switched it up and told them to crash the boards when we were getting beat down on boards which was often and that starts with horford.

horford was worried about his money also, he wasn't about to get physical only to possibly tear another titty.

Still interested in seeing how Horford rebounds this season.  Off to a weak start but small sample with his concussion.

[hazer]

44 minutes ago, capstone21 said:

Smith sucks ... he has a low bbiq and a lot of his athleticism that his game was based on is gone 

We all already know this. I wasn't referring to anything his old game was based on.

[Sothron]

It just shows how much Horford gave up on rebounding. He never attacked the glass like he used to after the pec tears. It flat out shameful to watch Dwight rebound like he does and then remember how pathetic Horford was at trying to get boards.