The Pistons suffered a close loss last night against the Hawks that could’ve been avoided if they were better on the defensive glass. Even though the Pistons held steady in their clutch defense, they allowed far too many offensive rebounds and it eventually cost them the game. This has been a major problem for the Pistons since the All-Star Break and could be a killer in the playoffs.
The Pistons need to close out possessions better
Prior to the All-Star Break, the Pistons were 16th in the NBA at defensive rebounding percentage. Combined with their high rate of forcing turnovers, this was an acceptable mark that led to an overall elite defense. But since then, that rank has plummeted all the way to 23rd and Detroit has grabbed just 68% of available defensive rebounds.
That means they are allowing opponents to grab 32% of missed shots, which would nearly be a top ten mark in the league. Without their superstar guard in Cade Cunningham, the Pistons simply can’t afford to lose the margins on possessions in this way. In clutch situations, this weakness can be especially devastating and teams can get cleaner looks off an offensive rebound too.
Defensive rebounding needs to be a group effort
The natural first instinct is to blame the man in the middle: Jalen Duren. Duren is of course tasked with being the team’s leading rebounder and his inconsistent physicality at times has contributed to the Pistons’ overall woes. As he grows and matures in his game, Duren should become a more consistent force on the glass.
But Duren has actually held relatively steady as a rebounder before and after the All-Star break. In both stretches, the Pistons grab about 71% of available defensive rebounds when he’s on the court. And he has personally been solid for 6.7 defensive rebounds per game in both stretches.
The problem instead has been his support on the glass. When Duren rotates to contest shots, he hasn’t been receiving the same rebounding support in recent weeks. It’s led to his man often getting putback opportunities when another Piston doesn’t come over to box him out. Surprisingly, the veteran Tobias Harris has been the biggest culprit of this oversight.
And it’s been even worse for the bench units. The Pistons’ backups haven’t done enough gang rebounding and it’s led to big disadvantages on the boards. Missed time for Isaiah Stewart, arguably the most physical player on the team and a spiritual leader of the bench unit, has also contributed there.
Last night, the Pistons got killed again as they gave up 20 offensive rebounds to the Hawks. They can’t expect to win big games if they allow this to continue being a weakness.