Having the league's best rebounder and being among the league's worst rebounding teams?

The Rockets played fast last season, too, but were 1st in DReb%. So, it isn't just guys running. To me, it seems guys don't quite make the right block out assignments when Dwight goes for blocks. This isn't as much a problem with Asik since he doesn't sell out trying to swat every shot and is good at giving a contest while staying in great rebounding position.

 

Better interior defense means lower 2P FG% and more perimeter jumpers which usually mean long rebounds. Long rebounds are usually 50/50 scrums. The wings are concentrating on covering their guys on the perimeter so they usually have their heads turned. Guys need to talk more on D and call out shots so players know when to look for long rebounds.

More blocked shots usually mean more chances for offensive rebounds near the rim. Sometimes 2 or 3 on the same play. Everyone just needs to be aware that there are more defensive rebounding chances this year and make sure to block out and look for defensive rebounds. Specifically Parsons and all our guards.

 

Is there a breakdown of defensive rebounding % by where the rebounds actually happened on the court?

My guess is that we're elite near the basket, and near last at mid-range. Besides not boxing out, we're taking one or two potential rebounders out of the equation by forcing the fast break.

 

Good post !
see my post in the "asik for NON PF THREAD" a big problem with this is the long rebounds from jumpshots and lack of hustle & lack of communcation of a floor general on the floor.

 

Both Howard and T Jones like to go for the block. However, there's nobody to box out guys that are trying to get the offensive board. Somebody has to box out some guys in the paint when Dwight or Jones goes for the block.

 

Very interesting. Am really intrigued by your posts in this thread. IMO, defensive rebounding = championships. Pat Riley used to say rebounds = rings, but if you look at the great teams over the years, it is the defensive rebounds that really put teams over the top. Offensive rebounds are helpful and great, but not nearly as necessary as securing the defensive boards.

 

I have sad this multiple time all over the place and will say it again, Amir Johnson, please make that happen. he is by far the best 3rd big option to trade Asik for by FAR.

I'm not sure why Toronto would need / want Asik, but they're certainly looking to deal , so try to find a 3 way (probably with Sacramento )

 

Howard is all empty stats.

 

We're among the worst defensive rebounding teams but we're also one of the better offensive rebounding teams.

Wouldn't this put us closer towards the middle of the pack in total rebounding?

 

I think this is a huge part of it. There are tons of plays where Dwight gets out of position to block a shot or stop the guy driving to the basket and the possession will end with an offensive rebound or a put back. This is something that can be improved with practice but right now the other four players on the floor aren't getting it done.

 

Actually this is a very interesting question. Taking a more in depth look at it the Rockets gave up 15.3 OREB in their wins and 11.8 OREB in their loses. However this may just be that in their loses the opposing team is shooting lights out.

The Rockets also grab a league leading 53% of all available rebounds so all of the rebounding news is not bad.

 

The third is that he gets everything in his area, and is chasing after enough rebounds outside his area that they become "contested".

I don't know that that stat actually tells you anything.

 

1. Actually, the Rockets are #1 in total Rebound %.

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/team/_/stat/rebounds-per-game/sort/avgReboundsDifference

Kind of an interesting stat-- and perhaps doesn't really mean much.

Toronto, Chicago, and Portland both have higher OReb% AND higher DReb% than the Rockets, but the Rockets have a higher total rebound %.

This is because Houston has generated a ton of defensive rebounding opportunities-- i.e. opponent misses that can be rebounded-- and not many offensive offensive rebounding opportunities. Specifically, Houston has averaged 50.1 defensive rebound opportunities per game and only 38.3 offensive rebound opportunities.

So, even though the Rockets are not grabbing a high % of defensive rebounds, the Rockets end up grabbing a high # of defensive rebounds compared to other teams-- the most in the league in fact, at 36 per game. When you add those to the 10.8 offensive rebounds per game that the team grabs and divide it by the # of total rebound opportunities (50.1+38.3), you end up with (36+10.8)/(50.1+38.3)= 53%, which is the highest in the league.

To put it another way, defensive rebounds are inherently high % opportunities, even a bad defensive rebound team can grab 70+% of those. Offensive rebounds are inherently low % opportunities, even great OReb teams grab about only 30% of those. So, a team's "total rebound %" can be greatly influenced by what portion of your rebound opportunities are on the defensive end as oppose to the offensive end. In Houston's case, 50.1 of their 88.4 rebounding opportunities per game-- 56.7% of all rebound opportunities-- are on the defensive end, an unusually high %. Thus, it's easier for Houston to have a high total reb % even if its defensive rebound % is low.


2. The reasons for the high # of defensive rebound opportunities include (a) Houston is forcing a lot of bad 2 pt shots, (b) Houston is allowing too many 3 point shots (high efficiency shot, but likely to be misses), (c) fast pace, (d) Houston doesn't put opponents on the line often, (e) Houston doesn't force turnovers at a high rate, and (f) Houston is allowing too many offensive rebounds, thus 2nd shots.

Some of the factors are positive, other are negative for the team, but all of them combine to result in a high # of opponent misses (and attempts) on shots that can be rebounded.

3. Conversely, the reason that Houston has a relatively low # of offensive rebounding opportunities include (a) Houston is shooting a high % from the field, (b) Houston drawing fouls a lot, and foul shots generate less rebounding opportunities overall, (c) Houston is turning the ball over a ton-- turnover = no shot attempt = no OReb opportunities.

4. The whole thing is a perfect storm generating a statistical anomaly.

 

This. Our guys (meaning Harden) need to stay in front of the guy they are guarding. We'd be so much better on defense if they are consistent with this. Not looking at the stats, but just watching the games, I don't see a lot of missed rebounds that I would expect them to grab. Whoever said Dwight forcing teams to take more outside shots, leading to longer rebounds on average, may be on to something.

 

So now, this thread doesn't make sense.

 

The 53% is misleading. The Rockets have a ton of turnovers and get to the free throw line a ton leading to a very disproportionate amount of missed FGAs (opponents are missing 15 more shots per game). So while the defensive rebounding is poor, it is more heavily weighted for the Rockets than any other team by a good margin.

Edit: See CH's response earlier as it is much more thorough than mine.

 

Actually, Total Rebound % doesn't make sense as a tool for measuring rebounding ability.

 

The important thing is, the Rockets are #22 in defensive pts per 100 possessions. While they are good at defending the FG%, they are bad at defending the 3pt shot and they give up a lot of second chance points.

We were a better defensive rebounding team last year. Someone pointed out that perhaps it's because Howard attempts to block shots while Asik stays in position for defensive rebounding. But the strange thing is, the TT lineup did not improve our defensive rebounding.

The reasonable theory was that when Howard went for the block, Asik would be there to clean up the defensive board. It didn't happen for some reasons.

 

So, here is a table showing what % of each team's rebound opportunities come from the defensive end. The Rockets are #1 by a pretty decent margin at 56.7%.

Spoiler

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<tr class="tableizer-firstrow"><th>TEAM</th><th>% of Avail. Reb. Defensive</th></tr>
<tr><td>Houston</td><td>56.7%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Indiana</td><td>54.4%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Golden State</td><td>53.5%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Miami</td><td>53.0%</td></tr>
<tr><td>San Antonio</td><td>51.9%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Oklahoma City</td><td>51.9%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Orlando</td><td>51.6%</td></tr>
<tr><td>LA Clippers</td><td>51.0%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Phoenix</td><td>50.9%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Memphis</td><td>50.9%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Brooklyn</td><td>50.8%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Chicago</td><td>50.8%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Atlanta</td><td>50.8%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Boston</td><td>50.7%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Portland</td><td>50.7%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Denver</td><td>50.6%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Dallas</td><td>50.2%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Philadelphia</td><td>50.1%</td></tr>
<tr><td>LA Lakers</td><td>49.6%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Cleveland</td><td>48.5%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Minnesota</td><td>48.2%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Washington</td><td>47.7%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Charlotte</td><td>47.7%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Sacramento</td><td>47.6%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Toronto</td><td>47.6%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Milwaukee</td><td>47.3%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Utah</td><td>46.6%</td></tr>
<tr><td>New Orleans</td><td>46.6%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Detroit</td><td>45.7%</td></tr>
<tr><td>New York</td><td>45.6%</td></tr>
</table>

 

It actually tells me that the Rockets will out rebound their opponents by 6 rebounds every 100 rebounds (about 54 minutes of playing time). Seems pretty significant to me over the long term.