Forcing opponnets to low FG% (3rd in NBA) is one component of defence which is good. Causing turnovers (last in NBA) is one component of defence which is clearly bad... But there's another component which is surpisingly not good. Rockets get more defensive rebounds than any other team (36.0). So defensive reboudning can't be problem, correct? Not so sure... Because of quick pace, big number of turnovers and ... low opponent FG% - opponents have very large number of FG attempts, much more than while playing aginst other teams. Opponnets have 14.1 offensive rebounds. It's bad. Actually it's the worst in NBA. And it means that Rockets succeed to get only 71.9% defensive rebounds, which is 27th in league... and so Rockets fail to capitalize on causing low opponent FG%.
I dont see it it has a huge problem at the moment. When we ran with TT it seemed like our rebounding was at a all time low. now with Tjones and an abundence of small ball we have started to rebound the ball much better. we out rebound our opponents on average at a rate of +5.2 (tied for second) we only give up 41.6 rebounds per game (good for 8th in the league) which is even more impressive when you factor pace of our games
We out-rebound our opponents, OPP eFG% is down, and we're in the top-10 in FTA allowed per FGA. Focusing on contesting shots without sending players to the FT line is more important than being in position to grab every defensive rebound (see Lee, David). Of all the things to worry about, this is way down the list.
Rockets shoots hig FG% (3rd in league) and good in offensive rebounding (28.2%). So opponent gets only 27.5 defensive rebound per game (Rockets and Miami are best in league in this component) It's once again: good offence, bad defence.
Yes. But Rockets still 2nd worst team in NBA on opponent points per game! Turnovers certainly is part of explanation, but as I see that not good def. rebounding is not less important.
There are 3 keys to winning basketball games at almost any level: 1) winning the turnover battle (taking better care of the ball than your opponent), 2) winning the rebounding battle and 3) good defense. The Rockets struggle in all three areas and are winning right now on sheer talent alone. It is a sign of their enormous potential that they are as effective as they are. They have to become a more fundamentally sound team, though, if they are going to win against better teams when it matters, and yes, defensive rebounding is a big problem for this team. At a minimum, they are going to have to address two of these areas if they hope to advance in the playoffs.
Problem is when Howard goes up blocking shots, our other players don't box out ready for rebounds. Tjones still learning (I believe he'll be rebounding machine). Garcia and Parsons can jump but they don't know how to set the positions. Casspi and Dmo are just soft and get push around under the rim.
You can't expect someone to box out Dwight's man when Dwight goes for a block. First, if Dwight leaves someone to block a shot, that person already has inside position, so a box out is difficult, second if you leave your man to contest Dwight's man, you've given your own man a lane to the basket, so now instead of one person with rebounding position, you've given two people rebounding position. The correct way to do it is for Dwight to only contest shots where he can be fairly confident he has a reasonable chance of affecting the block and/or can get back into position to rebound the ball.
I think you are right. That's probably the reason that Asik doesn't get as many blocks but is still huge under the rim defensively and rebound wise.
Asik is a paint protector and Howard is a rim protector. Howard alters many more shots than Asik, which makes him a better post defender overall. Players like Howard will allow more opponent offensive rebounds.
Pretty sure Dwight feels like he can contest and/or block any shot that comes into his vicinity, and he does for the most part. Putting all the blame on Dwight for leaving his position to contest a layup or dunk is pretty ridiculous -- how about the perimeter players stop letting their defensive assignments blow past them? Sure Dwight leaves his man to chase down blocks more often than he probably should, but to expect him to make the split-second decision correctly every time is just too much.
Instead of worrying about defensive rebounds, Im more worried about the turnovers and thats whats killing this team period.
