The Celtics have a lot of defining characteristics. People will point to their superstar, Jayson Tatum, their three-point volume shooting, the eccentric coach, the depth, and on and on. But the thing that is really going to define their success this season and give them a massive advantage over every team they play is their relentless pursuit of rebounds on both ends.
Last season, rebounding was one of the biggest perceived weaknesses of the team, with Tatum being injured and all of the big men lost in trades and free agency. But Joe Mazzulla and his staff discovered something, committed to hammering the glass, especially on the offensive end, and turned that into a major advantage.
In the offseason, they doubled down on that philosophical edge, bringing in Mitchell Robinson, one of the best offensive rebounders in the league, and empowering their young wings to play more, all of whom hit the glass with reckless abandon.
The team is fully leaning into Mazzulla’s system, and winning the possession battle by outrebounding opponents has become a huge part of that. It’s only the preseason, but through two games, we’ve already seen this advantage in full effect.
Celtics have outrebounded opponents by 55 through 2 games
In their first game, against the Cavaliers, the Celtics outrebounded Cleveland by a whopping margin of 71-46, including a 21-6 edge on the offensive glass. And then on Saturday, in game two, with largely different personnel, we saw more of the same as Boston absolutely destroyed Philly on the boards, 71-41, with a 19-7 advantage offensively.
That’s going to be the calling card for the Celtics this season, and while we probably shouldn’t expect things to be quite this lopsided all season, I think it’s extremely evident how the Celtics are going to try to obliterate teams on the margins. If they can consistently win the rebounding battle, they’re going to be very tough to beat.
They’re already a good team in many other areas; if they can decisively win the possession battle like this, games aren’t even going to be competitive. It’s probably not realistic to think they’ll be winning on the margins by 30 rebounds, but at the same time, it’s clear from watching them play that it’s a major point of emphasis.
Teams are going to have to adjust to the way they play, and that’s going to take them out of their game, which is going to be incredibly difficult to combat during the grind of the regular season. But if they don’t, things are going to get ugly for them. That’s what Mazzulla wants, and that’s what the Celtics are betting on. It’s not foolproof, but it sure looks like a sound strategy.
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