Last February, the Mavericks picked up PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford, and since then the team has found its cruising speed. With a reinforced racket, the defense is better, the game is more balanced, and we clearly saw, last night, the impact that rebounding could have. And more particularly the offensive rebound.
In Game 6 against the Clippers, the Mavericks captured 18 offensive rebounds, which they transformed into 21 points! Seven players grabbed at least one offensive rebound, proof that it was a joint effort, and the most greedy were Derek Lively II and Daniel Gafford with, respectively, 5 and 4 grabs.
“It’s since the ‘trade deadline’” reacts Luka Doncic about this rebound domination. “All season, Tyson (Chandler) worked with Derek. It's very helpful to learn from Tyson. Its very important. Then we picked up Daniel. So, it’s been since the trade deadline.”
Precious before challenging the Thunder
This night, the Mavericks set the tone from the start with 10 offensive rebounds in the first quarter. “When we missed shots, Gaff and the others gave us a second or third opportunity. That's something we wanted to do in this series: take control of the rebound when we missed shots.” explains Jason Kidd. “And we missed a lot of shots… But the guys helped us take advantage of second and third chances. Derek did an incredible job of deflecting balls and we capitalized on those offensive rebounds. »
It's unclear what the Clippers had listed in their scouting report, but the Mavericks were just 23rd in the NBA in offensive rebounding this season with fewer than 10 grabs per game. Tonight, they had already reached this total at the end of the first quarter.
“When we got Derek and Gafford back, everything changed! » notes Dante Exum, who recalls that Derek Lively II was injured for a long time. “It’s about getting in the right spots, watching a lot of video and understanding what types of shots we’re taking. This will help us tremendously in the future and clearly against a team like OKC. »
Because rebounding is the Thunder's big weakness this season, and therefore a point to focus on…
