Before the Dallas Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night, the team's rebounding was plainly horrendous.
Dallas was out-rebounded by the Utah Jazz 40-30 on Thursday night, as the Jazz dominated the Mavs on the glass even without Walker Kessler. This issue was also hugely prevalent in Dallas' clutch loss to the Phoenix Suns, as Jussuf Nurkic pulled several huge rebounds in the clutch to help give the Suns the narrow win.
Luka Doncic said that the team's rebounding issues were the prime reason that they were losing games after the horrendous loss to the Jazz, and Dallas responded valiantly against the Spurs.
Mavericks finally put an emphasis on crashing the glass
Dallas out-rebounded the Spurs 53-45 last night, tying a season-high for rebounds in a game. The Mavs were clearly emphasizing crashing the glass harder, specifically the defensive glass, and they needed this game desperately after what happened in Utah.
Dallas only pulled 19 defensive rebounds against the Jazz, consequently giving up 19 second-chance points. That is nowhere close to good enough considering that the Mavs have one of the best center duos in the NBA with Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford down low, and their performance on the glass was much better against the Spurs.
They only gave up 10 second-chance points against the Spurs, and being better on the glass was clearly an emphasis going into that game. Doncic was frustrated about how bad their rebounding was, and they turned the page against San Antonio.
After the game, Gafford said he got "back to the physicality that (he) wants to play at," against the Spurs, and said his rebounding was much better. Gafford said that his rebounding is "something that he is trying to hold himself accountable for," and that ended out working out perfectly in Dallas' win over the Spurs. He was excellent off the bench in the win, and his dominant performance could force Jason Kidd to consider making him the starter once again.
Gafford also talked about how Dallas' energy was good going into the game, and a jolt of energy at the start of the second half helped lead them to a win. Gafford's energy was clearly high, as he finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks. This was the best game of the year for Gafford, and his emphasis on being an aggressive rebounder in this game seriously helped Dallas. He ended up pulling three offensive rebounds, and he is at his best when he is putting pressure on the rim in the pick-and-roll game and fighting for offensive boards.
This was Gafford's first 20-point game of the season, and the entire team's focus on giving better effort on the glass and boxing out more was clear. Rebounding isn't necessarily difficult, but it takes focus and intentionality and that's exactly what the Mavs showed against the Spurs.
Doncic's concerns about Dallas' rebounding were momentarily wiped away in this win, but they must continue to crash the glass at a high level to prove themselves as a contender in the West. Not ball-watching and boxing out will be important for Dallas moving forward, and Dallas has the chance to get back to .500 with a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight.
