Joe Mazzulla on Celtics' Struggles Rebounding: 'It's Going the Opposite Way'

Tuesday, the Knicks parlayed 14 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points, continuing a troubling trend for the Celtics.

In the Boston Celtics' 123-110 win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday, they gave up 14 offensive rebounds, resulting in 18 second-chance points for the visitors.

Mitchell Robinson, one of the NBA's best bigs on the boards, snagged four offensive rebounds, leading to six of his 12 points. Guard Miles McBride tacked on four more second-chance points for New York.

Overall, Al Horford was excellent in a sixth-man role that will become familiar to him this season due to Boston boasting the best top six in the league and having more quality depth in the backcourt than at center. But a blemish from his performance was only grabbing one defensive rebound.

As effectively as he and Kristaps Porzingis can work alongside each other, their minutes will often get staggered, making it easier to pace the two. Rebounding doesn't only fall on one person's shoulders, and boxing someone out to keep that individual from extending possessions, trusting a teammate to corral a missed shot, represents doing one's job effectively. But when Horford's the only big out there, the Celtics will need more production from him on the glass.

And don't take this as gospel, but NBA.com's hustle stats from Tuesday's matchup put the former Florida Gator down for zero box outs.

Again, the problem doesn't lie with one player. Boston gave up 14 offensive rebounds to the Philadelphia 76ers in its preseason opener. At least the hosts limited their guests to 13 second-chance points that night, helping them earn a 114-106 victory.

In the two's rematch in the City of Brotherly Love, the Celtics held the Sixers to nine offensive rebounds, but Philadelphia converted those into 19 second-chance points.

After Tuesday's win vs. the Knicks, when asked how he feels about his team's rebounding at the moment, Joe Mazzulla responded, "I tell you what, what were we number one in the league in rebounding last year? We were third in (the) playoffs. We were crappy in clutch time. (For) all we've talked about it, rebounding, it seems like it's going the opposite way, so I'm going to stop talking about it, and then we'll pick it back up."

After pausing, he conveyed, "I think our rebounding's been relatively good. We've missed a couple (of) free-throw rebounding situations; one, I like our offensive rebounding. I think (that) we've made a conscious effort to become better at that, and our guys have bought into that. And defensively, I feel like we have a lot of possessions of physical block outs and the other guy coming back to get it."

Shortly after that, he shared, "It's funny, I thought we didn't stress it as much a ton last year, and we were really good at it for the most part, and this year we're really hammering it, and it's not that good. So, that's coaching -- the more you talk about it, the worse it gets."

Further Reading

Jayson Tatum on Working with Sam Cassell: ‘It’s Been Great'

Celtics Praise Al Horford, Who May Have to Sacrifice Most: 'Critical Piece to Our Team and Our Locker Room'

Celtics Embracing Sacrifice in Championship Pursuit: 'Have to Buy into That'

Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Win vs. Knicks: Extended Look at Top 6 Yields Mostly Positive Results

The Latest on Celtics' Extension Talks with Derrick White

Al Horford Shares Where Kristaps Porzingis Has Impressed Him Most

Under Joe Mazzulla, Celtics Rebuilding Brotherhood Between Past and Present

Candace Parker on Celtics Trading Marcus Smart, Maximizing Tatum-Brown Tandem, Pat Summitt, and the Sports Matter Initiative

Here's What to Know About Celtics' 2023-24 Schedule

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