With Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley under the boards, the Cavaliers are ranked 7th in the ranking of the best rebounding teams. But last night, JB Bickerstaff's players were eaten by the Bulls: 74 holds to 39! We have rarely seen such a differential, and it is the direct consequence of Billy Donovan's choice to start with Andrew Drummond and Nikola Vucevic under the circle.
On paper, the two are not very complementary but the Chicago coach didn't have much choice since Alex Caruso, who helps out at position 4, was absent. And it worked, notably with 25 offensive rebounds for 32 points scored on “second chances”. In a match played after two overtimes, that makes the difference.
Two rebounders together, it can only work
Former All-Star, Andre Drummond confirmed that he had lost none of his rebounding skills with 26 catches!!! He equals the season record, held by Domantas Sabonis, and this is his second game with 25 rebounds or more this season.
“Mathematics is really simple!” » quips the former Pistons. “You put two guys together who are good at rebounding. One of them is one of the best rebounders in history. And the other one next to me is right behind me. It's very complicated for the opponents. They have to make a choice on the rebound. Who to block? Him or me? »
Incidentally, Andre Drummond appreciated his team's proud reaction after the surprise defeat against the Pistons. “It says a lot about the team… We continue to fight. We fought well. The day before, we had let our guard down a little. Tonight, we played like a team with big ambitions, and we were ready to play. »
Author of 17 points, he also thanks the referees for letting the two interior pairs rub together. “It reminded me of the late 2010s. With two associated interiors. It was a real fight, a very physical match, and I'm glad the referees let us play.”
