3 keys as Milwaukee Bucks look to continue win streak vs Indiana Pacers

Can the Milwaukee Bucks keep their strong rebounding performances going against the Indiana Pacers?

After being the biggest cause for concern among fans to begin the season, the Bucks have turned around their rebounding in a big way as it’s now one of their biggest strengths.

Over their last 10 games, the Bucks have the fifth-best rebounding rate at 51.6 percent and over their six-game winning streak, they have the league’s best rebounding rate at 54.2 percent. A lot of the credit goes to head coach Mike Budenholzer for inserting Bobby Portis into the starting lineup, which has provided a big boost.

In their first meeting this season, Goga Bitadze feasted on the offensive glass with seven boards (but no, Bleacher Report, that doesn’t mean the Bucks should trade Pat Connaughton for him). The Bucks were very thin up front — as I mentioned, they started Thanasis Antetokounmpo — so having Portis back will be huge.

Regardless, this is still a big Pacers frontcourt with Bitadze, Domantas Sabonis, and Myles Turner. When one of Portis or Giannis Antetokounmpo sits, there will be a mismatch that favors the Pacers inside.

Indiana is in the top ten for offensive rebounding rate at 28.6 percent for the whole season, so it will certainly be something that they’ll look to do when Milwaukee is forced to go small. It will also be a struggle to gain extra offensive possessions against a team that is one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the league, so the Bucks will need to make their shots count.

The Bucks will need to keep their strong rebounding performances going if they want to contain the Pacers and not give up extra offensive possessions and win their seventh game in a row.