Has anyone noticed that Landry's rebounding is way down this year? He started his Rockets career as a demon on the offensive boards, and it is understandable that with his changing offensive role that would reduce. But his defensive rebounding, which has always been weak for his position, has steadily gone down as well. Below shows Landry's per-36 minutes rebounding over his career, relative to the league average PF this season. I also show his minute per game, which has steadily increased over his career. All points in the graph are based on averages over the prior 10 games. Notice has his rebounding has plummeted since the beginning of December 2009. Cause for concern? If Scola should be traded, will Landry be able to pick up the slack if he becomes the starter?
nice chart. I have a feeling opponents shooting Percentage could account for a drop in Rebounds. Ariza may also take a couple rebounds Carl would have. Ariza's rebounding 1.5 more per game than his career.
I think it might be because he is becoming multi-dimensional... Before he would just bang the boards and wow us with his throw down dunks... Now he is fronting his defenders and shooting outside shots... His defensive rebounds should be maintaining but I can see why his offensive rebounds aren't what they used to be... Also, with Yao not there to block out the opposing center, its left up to smaller guys which could make it more difficult to obtain the ball.. Just guessing though
I did and most likely so did RA as Dorsey has been inserted next to Landry to make up for this. I've actually seen Landry be more aggressive defensively and on the boards since Dorsey started playing alongside him, maybe its contagious.
It is the defensive rebounding which concerns me. His offensive rebounding has maintained alright, for the most part.
Good stuff durvasa. Landry's rebounding or lack there of has always been somewhat of a concern for me. Landry regularly gets outworked and pushed out of position when it pertains to the defensive side of the ball. I would like to see him work harder on said positioning, and show the tenacity he brings on the offensive glass, as it pertains to his defensive rebounding. Landry's lack of size is an issue, so he must outwork people Imo
Interesting graph. I would not worry. There are highs on your graph on the playoffs and during the 22 game winning streak. So I think right now what you are seeing is a general issue with motivation, and this is probably present in the Rox as a whole. What caught my eye is the inverse relation between offensive and defensive rebounds (before Dec 09). When offensive rebounding goes up, usually the other goes down. I would have always thought the opposite, but I guess if you get a lot of offensive rebounds, you get tired, and try less hard on the defensive side.
I think a quality PF should be a threat for 15 boards on any given night. Scola is while Landry is not. Hell, I'm impressed if Carl pulls down 9 boards in 30+ minutes. I suspect his rebounding numbers are never going to be anything to write home about. That's why Scolandry is so deadly. The two guys are so effective in different ways.
Even though Carl is an "active" player he does have the height, the reach, or the bulk to be an effective high rebounder. IMO
Great post, durvasa... the ability to score nabs the highlight reels and Landry has shown the ability to score at what appears to be a superstar level, but I agree his rebounding is a concern. Scola is a little craftier and more well-rounded, doing it with far less athleticism. To me, so much of this (who starts, etc.) depends on the style of play the Rockets go with in 2010-11. One would think the return of Yao would dictate that halfcourt sets will be more the norm and a return to top-notch defense is mandatory (certainly the return of Yao will help that).
Still no one acknowledges the Opponents shooting Percentage. Last year? We were 5th best on Defense only allowing 94.4ppg teams shot .440 this year? We are 21th down with the Knicks allowing 100.5ppg teams shooting .501 you get rebounds when the other team MISSES SHOTS.
[math nerd] Yeah, mostly feels like a 404 Error: Yao Ming Factor not found in said Landry rebounding decline data. The Ming factor (symbol: a Chinese star!) is an important constant in this formula, that I wish always behaved as a constant! [/math nerd]
I had been noticing it, but it's nice to have a chart about it. I think for Carl, it boils down to basketball IQ. Is he boxing his man out and positioning himself well? Probably not. It seems like he used to focus more on that, but perhaps now he's focusing more on how to handle double-teams and whatnot.
I agree that it has to do with Yao's ability to block guys out. Yao wasn't always great at grabbing rebounds but he blocked guys out allowing Landry to get boards.
If he put as much attention to defense as offense he would be a starter, clearly right now he is offensively focused. DD
I think Landry has been outstanding this season and you can see the obvious work that he has put into his game HOWEVER this is something he needs to continue to improve either being more fundamentally sound or showing a little bit more "want". I always forget who said this but something to the effect that rebounding is all about who wants the ball more so while his "O" has been very nice he needs to continue to expand other aspects of his game of which I have little doubt he will.
