The Celtics are currently the worst rebounding team in the league, and if they stay there, they'll probably be a lottery team this year. They've let their opponents rebound nearly half their misses in each of the last two games, which is an absurd number.
Something has to change.
The good news is that it can.
There are a few elements that go into the bad defensive rebounding. Some of it has to do with their aggressive defensive scheme aimed at forcing turnovers. I think that's what went wrong on this late offensive rebound.
The Celtics are anticipating spin moves on every drive, so when they see a player's back, they are running in for the steal. So when Sam Hauser passes Tobias Harris on to Luka Garza, he's anticipating a spin back to the middle.
Instead, Harris throws up a wild running shot that comes off the front of the rim. Jalen Duren was Hauser's man, but now he's free to run in and grab the rebound.
This is where the Celtics need to either (a) make a decision not to go for the steal in this late game situation or (b) put a lot more effort into the rebounding.
I can easily argue that with the Celtics down three with 3:03 to go, the risk/reward for gambling has shifted out of their favor. There is much less time on the clock to make up for the downside of potential putbacks. In this situation, Garza has the switch and he can easily keep up with Harris. Hauser boxing out and the Celtics grabbing the board is much more favorable in this spot.
I also don't think it's really an either/or situation like I laid out. They should be putting in more effort to rebound the ball.
In this particular case, I'd say Jaylen Brown needs to read that Hauser has left and get in there to at least impede Duren. Derrick White should have a body on someone under the rim. He can't just turn and look.
Duncan Robinson isn't a threat where he is. If they somehow find him there, it's easy enough to close out to him. Also, with six seconds on the shot clock, that pass is much less likely, even if Harris somehow saw it.
If the Celtics are going to be the aggressive gamblers on defense, it's going to take some help from the other side to challenge for some of these rebounds.
Another issue here guys not fully understanding their teammates yet.
Garza sees the drive on White and comes flying over to help. Okay, he has Cade Cunningham so I can understand the reaction to some degree, but also, that's Derrick White, and White can handle himself on drives.
Garza wasn't coming over for the steal like Hauser was. He was coming over to block the shot. I think that's an overreaction that allowed the Pistons to keep the possession alive.
Also, I might look at Brown in the film session and ask him what he was doing. At least get into the mix to try to help. Guys have to develop the instinct to crash the boards. There is probably some fatigue, and maybe some hamstring tightness with Brown, but this is when they have to fight through whatever is bothering them. If you're on the floor, the full effort has to be there.
When I say full effort, I mean FULL effort.
This is an easy one. White has to get out his man and put a body on him, especially on a 3-point attempt.
These guys all know that 3-point shots deliver long rebounds. It's why on offense, they all crash to the nail from the corners on above the break 3-pointers. Jrue Holiday got a ton of offensive rebounds that way because of it. So it's pretty inexcusable to step into the paint like White (and Brown, for that matter) did on this play.
These are always long rebounds. Brown should have been clearing as much space as possible. White should have been touching Ausar Thompson. This is basic stuff.
So is this.
Josh Minott has to get all the way around that screen. There's no excuse for him getting stuck like that.
The scouting report on the Celtics is very simple. Shoot the ball and crash the boards. Down four with less than a minute to go, the goal is to clear those rebounds and run to maximize the time. If Cunningham hits a tough jumper, so be it. They absolutely can't allow these kinds of crashes.
Some offensive rebounds are unavoidable. No team keeps the other off the glass entirely. The Celtics don't have the personnel to be a great rebounding team, but there are things they can do better to make them better than they are. They don't have to be at the bottom of the league.
It was especially bad against Detroit, but all the Celtics needed to do was find their way to 10 more defensive rebounds to be at an acceptable number. Hell, I would have been happy with just these four that I just showed if it meant sneaking out of Detroit with a win.
The bottom line is there are correctable mistakes being made. We have to remember that after a meaningless preseason, this is really Boston's first chance to test themselves and see how far they need to go. All of this stuff is obvious on the film, so it's up to them to live up to their promise, control what they can control, and be better than they've been.