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There are plenty of reasons for the Philadelphia 76ers’ underwhelming start this season. One that has particularly shown face in recent matchups has been their poor rebounding.
The Sixers rank dead last in the NBA in rebounding with 46.9 per game. Head coach Doc Rivers acknowledged the problem, singling out the performance of Steven Adams of the Memphis Grizzlies, who beat Philadelphia 117-109 on December 2.
“Well, Steven Adams caused the [loss to] Memphis. That one is simple,” Rivers said, according to a December 7 story by Ky Carlin of SixersWire. “There is no other human on your team that can keep him off the glass. That’s why he’s so good. He’s a great offensive rebounder, in general, and he also plays with Morant who lives in the paint and bigs are off his body.”
Then, three days later, the Sixers lost 132-123 in double-overtime to the Houston Rockets, who have the second-worst record in the Western Conference. In that game, the Rockets outrebounded the 76ers 51-39.
“Houston … just crashed from the slots, and we didn’t have a lot of block-outs,” Rivers said, according to Carlin. “I thought Houston lived in the paint.”
P.J. Tucker’s Thoughts
Power forward P.J. Tucker, who was signed in the offseason to help remedy the Sixers’ rebounding woes, called out the team after its loss to the Rockets.
“We gotta be more physical. Period,” Tucker said, according to Carlin’s December 7 story. “We’ve kinda been saying that all year, but we gotta be more physical. We gotta hit first. We gotta be more aggressive on the box outs and helping each other. It’s not always the guy that’s actually boxed out. It’s like the help, the guy behind him, and just being on the same page, but we definitely gotta be more physical. That’s without a doubt.”
Tucker, who averages 5.6 rebounds a game in his 14-year career and has a reputation for toughness and commitment to defense, has not had the effect on the team’s rebounding that it expected when it signed him.
The Sixers, who finished last season ranked last in rebounds per game (49.2), are 29th in total rebounding percentage (47.6%) and have been outrebounded 148-111 over the past three games.
“I just feel like we’re not boxing out enough. I feel like we need all five guys going in there crashing,” forward Paul Reed said, according to Carlin’s SixersWire story. “A lot of the times, it’ll be [center Joel Embiid] down there by himself trying to get a rebound. We need everybody. I think that’s one of the biggest things.”
Joel Embiid’s Impact
Some of the blame must fall on the shoulders of Embiid, who is averaging just 9.6 rebounds per game, his lowest average since his rookie season, when he averaged 7.8 per game while playing 10 fewer minutes per game.
He will always end up collecting rebounds because of his 7-foot height, but Embiid is not a great rebounder. His inability or unwillingness to box out or get position often results in extra possessions for opposing teams.
Just 3.9% of Embiid’s rebounds have come with two or more players fighting for the ball, indicating he’s not taking advantage of his size. Meanwhile, 34.6% of his boards are coming with one player contesting him and 61.4% of his rebounds have been uncontested.
Rebounding is an indicator of hustle, but Embiid has been criticized for a lack of hustle. And the Sixers (12-12) often follow Embiid’s inconsistent energy level to a fault. If the Sixers are to turn things around, it likely will take a more convincing effort from the team as a whole, starting with their most important two-way player.
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