Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 103-91 win over Portland Trail Blazers

Rebounding Woes

In the NBA if a team is able to win the rebounding battle by 15, the game is not very close. However, very rarely is it the team that loses the rebounding battle by such a margin that dominates the game.

The Bucks lost the rebounding battle by 15 and still won easily in this instance. That is beyond rare, and speaks highly of the overall performance the Bucks had in every other department.

Yet, this is a trend that has become very worrisome for the Bucks. According to ESPN.com, the Bucks currently rank dead-last in the NBA in rebounds per game and are being out-rebounded by an average of 4.7 rebounds per game. To put that in perspective the teams directly ahead of the Bucks are the Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies, and Atlanta Hawks, all bottom-dwellers in terms of the current standings.

The Bucks have been a poor rebounding team for some time now and with the departure of Greg Monroe, previously the Bucks’ best rebounding big, the Bucks will need to do a better job of gang-rebounding.

The Bucks do not have to be an elite rebounding team. Last season, Boston gained the number one seed despite their poor rebounding. If Milwaukee can hover around the 20th ranking that would be sufficient, they just cannot be this poor.