Rockets' Rebounding Biggest Positive Through 20 Games
In a long NBA season, one of the biggest lessons a team can learn is to celebrate the small victories — even if they don't directly translate to the standings.
This proves even more true for a young team such as the Houston Rockets struggling to win basketball games.
Now posting a 5-15 record, dead-last in the Western Conference, staying positive may not be the easiest thing. But there has been one thing at the forefront of this rebuilding season, crashing the glass.
“The extra effort plays, the big-time rebounds we got from KJ (Martin) and Jabari (Smith) jumping over people to grab rebounds," head coach Stephen Silas said after Friday's 128-122 win over the Atlanta Hawks. "We got tired of them scoring on us. That is a good thing to have when you have guys out there who are like, ‘They are not going to do that anymore.’ That says a lot about our character and our group.”
In those effort plays, Houston proves to be one of the best in the league, trailing just the Hawks in contested rebounds per game (16.9.)
Along with ranking third in the association with nearly 46.5 rebounds per contest, impressing even more in the team's recently snapped winning streak - outrebounding Atlanta and the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-69 over two games.
Alperen Sengun leads the charge in crashing the glass (9.0), followed by rookie Jabari Smith (7.2) and guard Kevin Porter Jr. (5.8.)
The Rockets are back in action tonight on the road against the Denver Nuggets.
You can follow Riley Sheppard on Twitter at @RileyDSheppard
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