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@Jax Raging Bile Duct
"Green would get more rebounds if he was asked to be a rebounder, but that would be minimizing his strengths and asking him to focus on something he’s not great at. Like I’ve said before, it’s a 50/50 deal with Jeff and rebounding. Half of it is his talent, the other half is the role he’s asked to play."

I completely agree. He would get more rebounds if that was a focus of his from the coaching staff, but with our defensive scheme he is not on the block very much. I do wish he would learn that when the shot goes up he needs to chase the board though.

Ibaka also was not a bad rebounder at all, the 5 or so he averaged came in 18 minutes.

@Jax Raging Bile Duct
Well put... Green does well on rotations and closing out on perimeter shooters. Of course he is going to be out of position a lot.

Ibaka suffers from a similar problem: he is always contesting shots at the rim and leaping out of position. Hopefully, he learns to balance the two out and maintain position a little more often next year.

I think Aldrich will prove to be a good rebounder. And he is a pretty good passer out of the post and with outlet passes.... so that should bring another dimension as well (assuming he develops)

@Jax Raging Bile Duct
Thanks Jax for backing me up, I wasn't sure if I was just seeing things or not.

@Keith

True, Green isn't on the perimeter for every defensive possession, but he does front most entry passes, and is the one player most likely to run out on a shooter or help off his man. He guards Dirk and Mello on the perimeter. I'm not saying he doesn't have a rebounding weakness, but I think he's on the perimeter more than you realize. Yes, people put him in the post sometimes, but just watch how often he fronts those passes and run out on shooters and helps off his man. It's a lot.

Green would get more rebounds if he was asked to be a rebounder, but that would be minimizing his strengths and asking him to focus on something he's not great at. Like I've said before, it's a 50/50 deal with Jeff and rebounding. Half of it is his talent, the other half is the role he's asked to play.

Isn't rebounding one of the things that translate well from college to the NBA? If that's the case, Aldrich should be good at it.

Nice write up.

Defensive rebounding got better as the season went on. Like Keith alluded to, I think this team relies far too much on length and athleticism when going for rebounds and not enough on correct positioning.

I don't think this issue is something that must be corrected for the team to contend, though. It'd be nice to shore it up and Cole Aldrich (if nothing else) should be a productive rebounder in the NBA. But our team's shooting and turnovers are the two things that I think should take precedence over the rebounding problem.

They won 48% of the time last season against teams "good" (top-third) at total rebounding. It was a bit of a weakness but not the biggest. They did least well against teams good on FTA net (some combo of good at getting the line and good at not putting the other team there). The Thunder's big edge on FTAs in the playoffs was one their best stats. Normally the Lakers don't foul much but they sure did then.

@Dan2
Durant generally guards the player with the least offensive game. PFs, thanks to the dearth of good offensive centers nowadays, end up being asked to be better scorers. As such, Durant rarely guards them. The Green-KD pairing, and the ultra-versatility in general, are offensive things. Whether a team is able to take advantage of a mismatch (Green's speed/athleticism/shooting) on offense or not, they still must be able to defend a traditional lineup that they may face. Therein lies Green's issue. And that issue won't be fixed by putting superstar scoring machine KD on the opponents high end PF.

I too think Krstic leaves a lot to be desired, which is why I also am pumped to see Aldrich play. I am not expecting him to be a world beater in his first year, but I've seen enough Kansas games to know the guy was dominant when given the opportunity. Part of what we lack in half-court offense we could make up with better defensive rebounding and taking the ball in transition. With our guards and KD getting a lot of defensive rebounds, it left few people to get out and run. The big men we have, when they got the boards, weren't particularly adept at throwing crisp outlet passes to start the break.

While we lable Green and Durant the PF and SF respectfully, we have a hybrid defense that doesn't put goes in traditional roles. KD will sometimes play more like a PF on defense while Green plays SF, not all the time but it does happen, and I think we will see more of it in the future as KD gets stronger. Now this is partially because Green is athletic enough to guard on the perimeter, we play to the players strengths. However, I think the bigger problem is when Kristic, who is usually defending the paint, consistently is out of position and doesn't grab rebounds. Aldrich's production will be very interesting to watch if he is ever inserted into the starting lineup, I can't wait to see what a good rebound will do starting, not because I think it will make us great but to see how our system of defense affects their amount of rebounds.

@Jax Raging Bile Duct
I have high hopes for Aldrich, and was extremely disappointed that the trade couldn't go through until after summer league. As it is, I can't give Green the same pass because more often than not the person he is supposed to be defending isn't pulling him way out from the basket. I could see that argument on offense, as he is a more perimeter oriented scorer (style, not efficiency). But with defense, he's often being targeted by opposing teams in the post, which should at least keep him in solid rebounding position. He rotates well, which is great, but how often is he really being sucked way out on defense? Even when he's around the basket he just isn't doing what he's supposed to do. He focuses too much on preparing for a jump, as opposed to focusing on the opponents around him who need to have a body put on them.

@Keith

Agreed. I would say that Green is often out of position due to his responsibility on the perimeter. I continue to give him a pass for defensive rebounding if he's doing what he's asked to do and guarding the perimeter. I think Ibaka will learn to properly position himself. Ibaka has a good rebounding rate, so I think that means good things for him. Krstic only rebounds the ball when it bounces his way. We don't have a guy like Kevin Love who just has a knack for rebounding, unless Cole is that type of guy. Like JG said in the article, I'm hoping his college numbers translate to the pros. I like how Collison works for the boards, and he is actually pretty dang productive with his rebounding rate for his size and the position he's asked to play. I'm hoping a Collison/Aldrich pairing will be a black hole of rebounding in our frontcourt this year.

I agree. Cole and Serge in the frontcourt would be extreme turnover-prone but fun to watch.
But I'm also pretty sure that Scotty won't change the lineup until they stopp winning. They played about 80 games together and - we all know - they did really great.

We need better positioning. Right now, this is the best thing for our current players to work on, as it is one of the few things they can actually change about themselves. Green doesn't fight for it, Ibaka settles for athleticism, and Krstic has trouble holding ground. Collison is probably the only one who consistently boxes out. Get guys in the gym, throw up the ball, show them the footwork they need to stay closer to the basket than their opponent.

Very well said.