Boston Celtics: Is the Rebounding Sustainable?
Can the Boston Celtics keep up their unexpected rebounding?
The Bottom Celtics went from the bottom of the cellar as a rebounding team, and currently find themselves top 10 in rebounds per game in the NBA right now.
If you consider the unbelievable roster turnover, it should not be too surprising to see areas of the team be completely transformed like this. That being said, rebounding was one area the Celtics were still concerned about with the new roster, and everyone has stepped up.
The most interesting part is that the Celtics did not add some all world rebounder. There is Aron Baynes who can help, but he is no where near an elite rebounder, that could have this kind of impact on the team.
Other than that, the Celtics might have actually gotten smaller in their front court. Marcus Morris is undersized, and their flurry if young bigs are all there for their small ball versatility. The Celtics have not been looking for many traditional seven footers, and they are showing that they do not need them.
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The Celtics managed to improve their rebounding, without getting a clear rebounding boost in their front court, and there is reason to question whether or not that is maintainable. Al Horford is blowing away the standard he set last season, but is right in line with career averages. Every single one of their guards has been a strong rebounder, and the two youngsters look like they can have a real impact in that facet of the game.
The Celtics are improving their rebounding as an overall unit, and it is amazing how each position is going better than last season.
Even if they still have a lot of small ball lineups, the overall size of their lineup is increased. They have the additional size at the point, and they have three wings that are massive any time they are playing the two.
Collectively, the Celtics have solid size, and that is why they are rebounding so much better this year.
The Celtics certainly will not be as bad as they were last year, but we will have to wait and see if each of these players are ale to maintain their positive rebounding. Right now, the Celtics are not just not a liability, but they are getting an edge on the boards.
It completely changes what Stevens is able to do with his lineups if he can trust that the small ball lineups will not get crushed on the boards, but they need their entire team to keep up this pace if that is maintained.
One reason we can be optimistic that the Celtics can maintain this is because they are doing it in small ball sets. One of the biggest ways to get the Celtics to adjust is by killing them on the boards. The Celtics want to be small, but getting killed on the boards forces them to adjust.
Right now, the opposite is happening. The Celtics are able to hold their own on the boards, meaning they do not need to adjust. Instead, the other team has to go to their small ball options, because the Celtics will kill them in too may ways if there is no rebounding edge.
Once those teams adjust and go small, then the Celtics are in prime position to kill teams on the boards. The Celtics may not be an elite overall rebounding team, but they can be an elite small ball rebonding team.
The more the Celtics can play small ball, the more other teams will have to take their size off the court. Once that size advantage is lost, then the Celtics have all these great rebounders to punish their opponent the exact same way they were suffering last season.
There is so much about this season that is hard to trust. The lineup has been utter chaos, and absolutely nothing has been set. It is way too early to trust anything about this rebounding, but there are a lot of great signs.
Next: Horford Gets a Break Against the Miami Heat
The Celtics took the collective route to improve rebounding, and it is working out. The Celtics are proving that they do not need that one elite rebounder to fix their rebounding problems, and if they maintain that will be a huge part of their potential success this season.