Mostly Rebounding

[Epicurus]

The difference between Blazers' offensive rebounding rate and that of their opponents' this season thus far is -2.7%.
The difference between Blazers offensive rebounding rate and that of their opponents' last season was +4.5%.
That is a turnaround of -7.2%
Each percent of OR% has been calculated by sports mathematician Wayne Winston as 1.3 gain or loss.
The negative offensive rebounding differential this year compared to last equates to -9.36 in the seasonal wins column. Meaning, if the rates continue throughout the season the same, the Blazers, assuming the other three factors differentials equal last season, are looking at a 44-45 win season. That is just rebounding alone is making them considerably worse than last season. Why is the rebounding so poor this season comparatively seems to be an important question?

Of course, other factors are not equal, particularly respective use of the foul line.

[BlazersBroncos]

Right now we have 2 rotation players with a RB% over 12: Hassan (22.4) and Skal (15.1) w/ one bit guy at 13 (Mario)

Last season we had 5 rotation players with a RB% over 12: Kanter (20.6), Nurkic (20.2), Aminu (14.2), Leonard (14.2) and Zach (12.7)

That sorta says a lot.

[Khazim]

Ouch. Rebounding is often a very underrated aspect of team success, but now that we've lost so much of it I think people are taking more notice. Losing Aminu is probably 75% of our decline, but Harkless was no slouch either. Also while Whiteside is a good rebounder, he's not so great at boxing out for others like Nurk is, so there's another area of decline. In my opinion, rebounding is the number one area we need to somehow address, for this year and looking forward. Getting Nurk back will certainly help, but not enough.

[tribulations]

Loss of chief, Mo, and obviously Nurk being felt on the defensive end.

Gorgui Dieng could be had cheap. Covington also on the market. Both useful defenders, Dieng is a solid rebounder at the 4 and 5, and RoCo is a 3D that can play both forward spots. Surely a trade there?

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[d-train]

Loss of chief, Mo, and obviously Nurk being felt on the defensive end.

Gorgui Dieng could be had cheap. Covington also on the market. Both useful defenders, Dieng is a solid rebounder at the 4 and 5, and RoCo is a 3D that can play both forward spots. Surely a trade there?

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I doubt the Blazers are all that serious about trading. Maybe we trade some small contracts like Herzonja if Herzonja wants a trade. Every other player we might trade is injured or is a player Blazers want to keep. Unless, Allen's sister turns out to be as big a spender as Paul was, I doubt the Blazers would trade Whiteside or Bazemore rather then resigning them to cheaper contracts in July.

[Sinobas]

That probably equates to roughly 2 less offensive rebounds per game. I'd bet the shooting percentage on offensive rebounds is a bit higher than average since many are put backs. It probably tilts the average scoring differential by -3pts per game or something....

[d-train]

Rebounding is a problem and so is inside scoring. There is no doubt we miss Kanter's 'goto' inside scoring ability. However, Nurkic has a decent 'goto' inside scoring game as well. I know, Whiteside's has impressive inside scoring stats and his unassisted scoring is about the same as Nurk's statistically, but there is a big difference in how they score their points not measured by the stats. Nurkic has 'goto' scoring ability and Whiteside doesn't. Whiteside scores off garbage and setups. His 'goto' postup game sucks.

[HoopsFanAZ]

Nurkic, Collins, Hood are out.
3 back-ups are starting.
End of roster players getting time as 2nd stringers.

This affects everything. Pointing to Aminu or other former players’ contributions is reasonable, but the limitations of Easy Ed, Chief, and Mo are in that equation, too. Return Nurk, Zach, and Rodney to the starting lineup and resolve the expiring contracts of Bazemore and Whiteside ... then, the numbers will suggest what has been lost and gained.

On the positive side, reactions under tough circumstances are priceless as are growth opportunities for younger players — Simons, Little, and Skal — and re-entry by Anthony is awesome player PR. Questions, unknowns about the roster moving forward are being provided valuable information.

I never saw Whiteside and Bazemore as more than temps ... maybe Baze returning for half or less. Sometimes trades are just for bandaging a temporary problem AND for trading guys a year early like Mo and Meyers. Keeping Chief when Collins is the future would’ve been a questionable thing both for the team and for Chief. A player who becomes a one-year rental is easier to just let go.