Yes, Benjamin Hochman is talking about rebounds in his latest article in the Denver Post.

George Karl admitted: “The one area of our team that I think is somewhat inconsistent is rebounding. Sometimes we put a team out there that doesn’t even try to rebound.“

Full story here.

 

What does George mean by "we" in the bold sentence above? Isn't he the one putting players in the game? All joking aside team rebounding at the end of quarters and games has been an issue for the Nuggets.

I recall during the Nuggets' recent trip to Detroit they were in dire need of some defensive rebounds and surrendered killer offensive boards that could have resulted, if Denver would have been able to get the defensive rebounds, to perhaps a different outcome to that game. Even against Houston recently the Nuggets gave up extra possessions late that while they didn't necessarily lose the game for the Nuggets, they sure didn't help to create any opportunities for Denver's comeback bid.

Hochman gets Karl talking about offensive rebounding as well:

“If I had to give our players a grade for offensive rebounding, I think we’re not playing to our level of competitive talent,” said Karl, implying he doesn’t have many “A” students.

The coach hopes his players will strategically attack offensive rebounds more often, notably players coming from the perimeter, who have a better view of the rebound.

The Nuggets are 16th in the NBA in offensive rebounding, and recently, Renaldo Balkman has kept that number from plummeting.

 

I pointed out in my recap of the Thunder game on March 12 how effective Renaldo Balkman has been on the offensive boards.

I so eloquently pointed out:

Balkman is leading the team in offensive rebounding percentage. Of his 144 total rebounds 61 of them have come on the offensive end. Good for just over a 42% clip. Consider the rest of Denver’s rebounders.

Here is the player and the percentage that his rebound comes on the offensive end:

  • Chris Anderson 37%
  • Nene 30%
  • Linas Kleiza 27%
  • Johan Petro 27%
  • Melo 24%
  • KMart 21%

I do realize that there is a need to get back on defense and not be on the offensive glass, but for a team that misses 53.5% of its field goals and 63.8% of its 3-point shots I think having a weapon under the glass is a major asset.

 

I think we all realize how important extra possessions can be and how hurtful they can be on the other end of the floor. For an undersized team like the Nuggets they will need to do a much better job on the glass and need to really step things up if/when they enter the post season.