On paper, this Celtics team had a lot of obvious flaws coming into the season, but arguably no concern was bigger than rebounding. Between Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Jayson Tatum, and Luke Kornet, Boston lost its entire frontcourt from last season, starters and reserves. Add in Jrue Holiday to that mix, and the Celtics lost their top 3 rebounders from last season, plus their fifth and seventh-best boardsmen.
Their leading returning rebounders from last season were backcourt players in Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard, who didn’t even combine to average 15 boards a game. The team’s entire frontcourt was a question mark, with the roster littered with relative unknowns, late draft picks with no experience, and retread free agents.
Things started disastrously, with the Celtics struggling to find consistent lineups and getting smoked in the rebounding department. In October, Boston was 20th in rebounding rate, in November they moved up slightly to 19th, but they started to turn the tide in December, finishing the month 6th in the league in rebounding. They moved up to 3rd in January, they’re now 2nd in the league for February, and somehow, they’re 4th in the NBA for the entire season.
Celtics have become one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA
Joe Mazzulla and his staff made a major commitment to the glass, deciding they could build an advantage in that department and capitalize, and that’s exactly what they’ve done. Part of it is Neemias Queta turning into a legitimate starting center and opening the paint.Â
Luka Garza proved to be a solid backup, and Nikola Vucevic has solidified the backup center rebounding role even further. But this is really all about the guards and wing players and their constant commitment to crashing the glass on both ends.
Boston has leaned all the way into offensive rebounding, especially crashing from the corners. Players like Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, and Hugo Gonzalez have led the charge, prioritizing extra possessions over transition defense.
This strategy has paid massive dividends, as the Celtics have become one of the best teams in the league and one of the true contenders, and their focus on rebounding has been a huge part of it.
The extra possessions are swinging games and providing extra opportunities for the offense to generate more shots than their opponents. These margins are swinging games, and creating an optimal environment for the team to strive. They may not look like a group of elite individual rebounders, but the collective unit, with this very intentional approach, is proving to be enough for a difference-making edge on the glass.