Milwaukee Bucks Game Preview: Oct. 23 vs Charlotte Hornets
By Adam McGee
Major key for Milwaukee – Competing on the glass
While the Bucks have obvious advantages over the Hornets in a number of departments, rebounding certainly isn’t one of them.
In the very small sample size that is this new season, the Bucks are the league’s worst rebounding team, averaging only 36.3 boards per game. On the other hand, the Hornets’ 52 rebounds per game is currently the second best in the NBA.
There may be some noise in the gap between the two teams given the limited action we’ve seen to date, but even looking back to last season indicates that rebounding will cause the Bucks problems in this matchup.
Even if Dwight Howard‘s game has faded significantly in many areas, he’s still an outstanding rebounder. Not only does Milwaukee lack a center who can act as a natural counter to him on the boards, but the fluidity of their current center rotation may not help either.
Through three games, Kidd has turned to a three-man center rotation where minutes have generally been divided up by how his big men are performing within the flow of the game. Last time out, that saw Greg Monroe play very limited minutes, but on this occasion arguably the Bucks’ most imposing center will likely be required to body Howard around the rim.
It’s very unlikely that the Bucks will win the rebounding battle but they need to clean up the glass the best they can as a unit, and at least limit second chance opportunities for Charlotte.