Board Games
Rebounding has been something the Cavs have been able to hang their hat on all year long. During the regular season, they averaged 43.5 rebounds per game, which was the second highest average in the NBA. Cleveland led the league in offensive rebounds, pulling down an average of 12.7 offensive boards a night.
There are not many teams in the NBA that can match Cleveland’s size up front. Four different members of the Cavalier frontcourt (Gooden, Ilgauskas, Varejao, and James) averaged at least 6.7 rebounds on the season. This allows the Cavs to bully teams on the glass and results in countless extra possessions. Rebounding the basketball had clearly been an integral element in their success during a solid 50-32 regular season. And in the playoffs, the trend has continued.
In their first round sweep of the Washington Wizards, the Cavs outrebounded the Wiz by an average of 10 boards per game (46.6 RPG for Cleveland versus just 36.5 for Washington). The Cavs defense forced the Wizards to hoist jumpers from deep and the Cavs’ hungry big men gobbled up the caroms.
And over the first two games of their second-round showdown with the Nets, Cleveland was able to maintain their dominant edge on the glass. Once again, the results were directly contributable to a favorable final score. In Game 1, the Cavs hauled in a whopping 51 rebounds, smothering New Jersey and limiting them to just one shot. Game 2 followed a similar script; the Cavs grabbed 49 boards, compared to just 32 by New Jersey. Moreover, the most staggering disparity was the offensive rebounding numbers. The Cavs were able to secure 19 offensive rebounds, while the Nets had just three. That means the Cavs had 16 extra possessions with which to work with. Thus, even though the Cavs were far less accurate from the field, they were still able to beat the Nets by 10 points.
But in Game 3, the tides turned. This time around, it was the Nets who controlled the backboards. New Jersey won the battle of the boards, 43-30. The Nets also had more than twice as many offensive boards (11) as Cleveland (5). This was the first time in seven playoff games that Cleveland had been outrebounded, and it coincided with their first loss in over a month (The Cavs had been riding a 10-game winning streak.) Without their customary rebounding advantage, the Cavs were not able to overcome the Nets hot shooting (56% in the second half).
If the Cavs hope to advance past the experienced and determined Nets, they will have to maintain their dominance in the paint and on the glass. Cleveland is 40-13 this season when they outrebound their opponents. If they follow their proven formula for success, they have a far better chance at knocking off the Nets in tonight’s crucial Game 3.
If the Cavs aren’t able to control the backboards, then it may be back to the drawing board with the series ties at 2-2…
