Bobby Portis was not pleased with Milwaukee's rebounding effort against the Orlando Magic, but the problem is that he didn't grab a single one. Following the loss, Portis was critical of the team, failing to acknowledge that he failed to tally a single board despite being one of the tallest players on the team and someone who should be a force in that regard.
"This new NBA is different where teams are crashing three, four guys now, so this is like a gang rebound effort. Can't be on, obviously, the bigs to rebound. Gotta be four, five rebounds for everybody. Gang rebound and just get the ball out and run."
Portis isn't wrong, but the problem with his assessment is that everyone who logged 15 minutes or more in this one tallied either four, five, or six rebounds... except for him. The performance was bad enough, but these comments just add to the headache of yet another loss.
Portis catching heat for rebounding comments after Bucks' loss
There's no denying that Portis' rebounding and overall play have been in decline for quite some time now. In part due to his minutes being down, he's averaging just 6.6 rebounds per game this season, his fewest in a Bucks jersey to date. Despite standing tall at 6-foot-9, 250lbs, Portis simply hasn't been impactful on the glass this season, as younger, more athletic players have feasted on him.
It wasn't always like this. Upon arriving in Milwaukee, Portis quickly became a fan favorite due to his hard-nosed style of play, which involved rebounding as if his life depended on it. It wasn't quite on the level of Dennis Rodman, but with some of the lengths he went to in order to secure the board, he was certainly earning plenty of praise.
That version of Portis has slowly faded over the past couple of years. He just doesn't possess the same ferocity he once did. He's never been the most athletic force, but that didn't matter in the past. He made his mark regardless. He still has the bulky frame to be a physical force down low, outworking his opponents to tally nearly 10 boards per game like he once did.
Portis's comments from the Orlando loss are not wrong. In today's NBA, rebounding is a team effort. Yet, everyone else, including 6-foot-4 guards Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins, held up their end of the bargain. It's time for Portis to have himself a bounce-back game. With Giannis Antetokounmpo still out of the lineup, he needs to assert himself as the top rebounder.
The Milwaukee Bucks' rebounding issues won't vanish overnight. They ranked 27th in the league in boards per game, after all. If they want to fight back, the solution will be a team effort. Everyone on the floor must fight for the board. Guards, forwards, centers. Anyone and everyone.
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