Philadelphia 76ers: A lack of rebounding has become a problem

Even in the modern-day 3-and-D NBA, offensive rebounding is still important.

I know, I know, statistically speaking, the Golden State Warriors were a below-average offensive rebounding team during their championship run, but they also ranked among the best rebounding teams in the NBA as a whole over that tenure, with an uncanny ability to scoop up an opposing team’s missed shots on the way to a space and pace 3.

When a shot doesn’t fall, or I guess go out of bounds, an offensive rebound can be the difference between an opponent gaining possession of the ball and a second chance at putting points on the board.

But what happens when a team isn’t particularly good at offensive or defensive rebounding? What happens when, despite having more than capable big men, the rest of the roster doesn’t try to play the glass and secure offensive possessions? Well, you become the Philadelphia 76ers, who currently rank dead last in total rebounding and have a slightly concerning shot differential as a result.

The Philadelphia 76ers need to up their rebounding game significantly.

The Philadelphia 76ers currently have three players who average at least eight rebounds per game, Joel Embiid, Andre Drummond, and Tobias Harris.

That’s good.

Drummond specifically is one of the best rebounders in the business, especially on the offensive end of the court, and his double-digit boards per game are well appreciated, especially considering his average minutes per game.

But outside of those three? Yeah, things tail off real quick.

Of the other 14 players on the roster, no one averages more than four rebounds per game, with Tyrus Maxey ranking fourth on the team with 3.6. Only Maxey averages more than three defensive rebounds per game, and on the offensive end of the court, only Paul Reed and Charles Bassey are good for one board per game, you know, when they actually take the court.

So what gives? Why aren’t the Sixers attacking the boards? I mean, it’s not like the players are running back on offense and can’t be bothered to try to secure possession. Philly currently ranks dead last in pace too, which means they could easily box out after every shot, even slower players like Georges Niang.

My theory? A mix of a lack of size and a lack of effort.

As has been pointed out over and over again (like here), the Sixers are a very small team that was originally built around the idea of having a 6-foot-10 point guard. With Maxey and Seth Curry in the backcourt and Danny Green moonlighting as one of the NBA’s shortest small forwards, the Sixers very rarely have an advantage around the basket and often get pushed around by bigger opponents.

Outside of securing a 6-foot-8 small forward in a trade for Ben Simmons (again, more on that here), signing G-League rebounding guard Charlie Brown Jr. to a two-way contract, or a smaller trade for a rebounding 3-and-D forward, there isn’t much the Sixers can do about that in the interim.

What they can do, however, is put in the effort to consistently box out and try to make something happen.

According to the NBA’s advanced analytics, the Sixers only box out 7.7 times per game, good for the 25th-highest mark in the NBA. If they just recorded two more per game, they would rise all the way up to sixth, tied with Washington and their much less impressive collection of centers.

Between you and me, that feels like an attainable goal.

Now sure, the Philadelphia 76ers’ rebounding numbers are surely impacted in a negative way by the absence of Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid for much of the month of November, but that alone can’t be the sole cause of the team’s misfortune. Watch any game, and you will see players put in suboptimal effort around the border for one reason or another. If Doc Rivers is wise, he’ll shore up this issue and instill a culture of rebounding similar to the one Brett Brown championed a few years back.