How good is a good rebounder really?

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How good is a good rebounder really?

Postby Leander on Tue Feb 03, 2009 11:27 am

Stats are not just pure stats. The number of points, rebounds etc. a player averages per game also depends on his teammates.
My question is how far a team can go. How dominant it can become, how it can outrebound other teams. It is a question of skills and sharing rebounds. If someone grabs 11 boards per game you may think he is a great rebounder whereas another player with 8 boards per game does not stand out that much. I love looking at statistics and often wonder why players average the same number of boards for many seasons but have some exceptions in between.

Did they play worse? Did they grab fewer rebounds because they were out of form? Or because another great rebounder was on the team, too?

This is so exciting and interesting, at least for me. LOL If Dwight Howard played on the same team with David Lee and Antawn Jamison, their individual averages would drop (their player roles could change as well).

Got my point? How good is a good rebounder, regardless of his team and teammates? How far can rebounds per game be pushed? e.g. many offensive boards but no offensive boards for the other team.

I started to think about this when I saw a documentary on sports, natural limits and technology. e.g. muscles and shoes are almost at the limit and the current world record for 100m-sprints can only be topped by some 0,4 seconds and that's it.

What do you think?
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Re: How good is a good rebounder really?

Postby benji on Tue Feb 03, 2009 11:38 am

How far can rebounds per game be pushed?

Depends on the pace.

Rodman, the greatest rebounder in history topped out at 30% of rebounds. If we assume a player single-minded in focus playing starter minutes and being the best ever could get 33%. There are about 83 rebound opportunities per game these days, playing 36 minutes per game, that's 62.

So the greatest rebounder ever playing at 110% of Rodman's absolute peak season (which itself was 110% higher than his second highest) would get about 21 per game. (And the leaders in rebounds this season, Camby and Howard, rebound at 2/3rds of that rate.)

Which still wouldn't break the records from days with higher paces.
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Re: How good is a good rebounder really?

Postby Doobie on Tue Feb 03, 2009 12:10 pm

I think there are players who make a lot of mental mistakes when it comes to rebounding. I am probably biased but I think David Lee is such a good rebounder cause of his IQ. There are some players who have an open rebound and just tap it out to nobody, or theres some players who go up for a rebound when the best thing to do is it to tap it out to an open player. David Lee works very well in deciding whether to go for the rebound or to tap it out.
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Re: How good is a good rebounder really?

Postby Andrew on Tue Feb 03, 2009 1:42 pm

There are certainly stats to show how good a good rebounder is and Ben has already pointed them out, but looking at the qualities that allow players to have that kind of production I would suggest determination and instinct as key attributes; the desire to actually battle other players for position and compete for rebounds and the instincts of how and when/if a shot will miss as well as the smarts to get into a good position to snag the miss. Height and tremendous athletic ability certainly help too, though one may compensate for another and it's an advantage that can be negated through lack of the aforementioned determination and instinct. In that respect, I'd also say a great rebounder is someone who doesn't have to rely on natural gifts to be effective.
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Re: How good is a good rebounder really?

Postby Doobie on Tue Feb 03, 2009 1:49 pm

Another thing I'd like to add is the amount of players that DON'T box out. I watch games sometimes and players miss easy rebounds cause they refuse to box out. It sickens me sometimes, I'm only 5'9" and I easily grab rebounds around taller players because I box them out. It's fundamentals basically.
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Re: How good is a good rebounder really?

Postby tee-pane on Tue Feb 03, 2009 2:42 pm

DoobieKnicks wrote:Another thing I'd like to add is the amount of players that DON'T box out. I watch games sometimes and players miss easy rebounds cause they refuse to box out. It sickens me sometimes, I'm only 5'9" and I easily grab rebounds around taller players because I box them out. It's fundamentals basically.

This is off topic but even if a guy boxes out, some freak athlete would come out of no where and grab the ball! I m sick n tired of boxing out for nothing :x srry for being off topic
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Re: How good is a good rebounder really?

Postby Fresh8 on Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:03 pm

tee-pane wrote:
DoobieKnicks wrote:Another thing I'd like to add is the amount of players that DON'T box out. I watch games sometimes and players miss easy rebounds cause they refuse to box out. It sickens me sometimes, I'm only 5'9" and I easily grab rebounds around taller players because I box them out. It's fundamentals basically.

This is off topic but even if a guy boxes out, some freak athlete would come out of no where and grab the ball! I m sick n tired of boxing out for nothing :x srry for being off topic


But when you box out, you still have the advantage because you have got yourself in a good position. It's just too bad if the guy you're boxing out is a freak athlete...
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Re: How good is a good rebounder really?

Postby Leander on Wed Feb 04, 2009 2:59 am

Interesting point with the % of total rebounds in a game. Rodman was great although he lacked size. Oakley, Lee, etc. are not that tall but still great rebounders whereas tall players such as Curry and Yi cannot pull many down. Of course Ben Wallace is not tall either.
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Re: How good is a good rebounder really?

Postby hova- on Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:23 am

I think there's just the ability to know where the ball will land (kind of instinct, but also a good eye on the spin and the point the ball will hit the rim) but also the physical and mental gifts to keep your opponent off the glas.
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