The Downstream Effects Of Rebounding Struggles

As good as the Oklahoma City Thunder has been thus far in the 2023-24 season, the one glaring issue has been rebounding. Although the starting lineup now features a true 7-footer at the center position in Chet Holmgren, the team’s struggle to clean the glass has carried over from prior seasons.

Oklahoma City has allowed the fourth most rebounds per game (47.8) of any team to its opponents this season, which is especially true as it relates to giving up offensive rebounds. Teams playing against the Thunder have averaged 14.7 offensive rebounds per game, which is the highest mark in the league.

It’s worth nothing that the Thunder has played at one of the fastest paces of any team in the NBA this season which has resulted in a tremendous amount of possessions. Even then, the high number of rebounds opponents have been able to pull down has been at a detrimental rate. Oklahoma City’s 46.5% rebound rate — which normalizes for the high number of possessions and available rebounds throughout a game — is third worth in the league. The Thunder more specially is second worst in the NBA in defensive rebounding rate and fourth worst in offensive rebounding rate.

While it’s easy to watch OKC play or dig into the stats and realize the rebounding has been an issue, it’s important to understand how these struggles can affect teams, specially the Thunder in this situation. While it’s obvious that rebounding is important, the downstream effects of being outproduced on the glass can be significant.

For starters, being an inefficient rebounding team allows opponents to pull down a high number of offensive boards. This has directly impacted Oklahoma City’s ability to limit defensive possessions and second chance points. In fact, the Thunder has allowed the fourth most second chance points of any NBA team this season at 17.1 per contest. This can be even more of an issue down the stretch of games, when OKC is looking to cut into a lead or get a defensive stop as time winds down. Allowing offensive boards in those moments can end up being the dagger that puts the game away.

This also directly impacts the number of shots each team takes within a game. Oklahoma City is fourth in the league in field goal percentage as well as 3-point shooting efficiency. With that in mind, opposing teams have taken nearly six more shots per game than the Thunder does, which neutralizes that incredible shooting efficiency.

The inability to rebound on the defensive end also impacts the Thunder’s ability to get out in transition and spark the offense. The fewer the number defensive rebounds the team is able to secure and in turn push the break, the lower the opportunity to run the floor in transition. Oklahoma City is currently middle of the pack in transition points with 14.4 per game, slightly down from last season.

At the end of the day, it’s a numbers game. Especially when a team is shooting as well as the Thunder is, doing anything it can to generate shots is a positive. If Oklahoma City can figure out how to be more effective on the glass to address the above issues, this team could really start to hit its stride.