In an NBA regular season game that ended today, the Philadelphia 76ers lost 96-101 to the Miami Heat, who played in the remnants, compared to the result of the loss, what surprised the editor was that their rebounding data would be so poor, the 76ers with a superstar-level center like Embiid only grabbed 35 rebounds in the game, 9 less than the 44 rebounds of the Heat.
So far, the 76ers are averaging 42.1 rebounds per game, which may seem good at first glance, but that's already the worst number in the league. What's worse is that in 29 games so far this season, the 76ers are second-to-last in offensive rebounding, averaging only a pitiful 8.4 rebounds per game, while in defensive rebounding, they are not much better, averaging 33.8 rebounds per game in the league ranking 25th. If it weren't for the 76ers being number one in blocks, 11th in steals and fourth in turnover rates, they'd lose a lot more games, aspects that largely mask their lack of rebounding.
So what makes the 76ers' rebounding ability so low? The 76ers have never actually been a good rebounding team, at least not since the 2018-19 season, but they've never been so bad yet. The 76ers' poor rebounding control directly led to a drop in their assists and total points per game, all because one of the team's top-paid players couldn't play.
We all know that Simmons didn't shoot at the basket in the Eastern Conference semifinals to grab a seven-game shoot-out, and didn't score any points in the fourth quarter of all seven games. But what we need to know is that in the regular season that season, Simmons still contributed 14.3 points and 6.9 assists, with the most critical being 7.2 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 0.6 blocks. Just add that total to the 76ers' current average, and they'll jump to the league number one with a 1.3-rebound advantage.
But it's clear that Simmons will never wear the Philadelphia 76ers jersey again, so what can the 76ers do to ease their rebounding woes? The only way to do that is to be more aggressive in grabbing rebounds, and head coach Doug Rivers should teach his team a lesson as soon as possible and correct the attitude of the players.