Why are these little Warriors nonetheless rebounding machines as soon as once more?

Similar to final yr, the Warriors — with a mean peak of 6-foot-4 — are the shortest crew within the NBA.

And similar to final yr, they’re proving measurement isn’t all the things in relation to rebounding.

After main the league in rebounds per sport final season with 46.7 per sport, the Warriors rank second within the class this yr at 48.4, behind solely Houston (49.7). They’re seventh in offensive rebounding fee and fifth in second-chance factors.

It’s nonetheless early within the season, however persevering with final yr’s anomaly makes it a development. The Warriors have discovered a workaround to being undersized on the glass.

They’re simply not fairly positive what it’s.

“Properly I feel a few of it’s we play quick and so we’re making an attempt to generate a sport that rewards velocity and quickness,” Steve Kerr mentioned on Thursday.

“I feel we have now a fast crew at loads of positions. We’ve bought some sensible gamers. Draymond is at all times going to be a part of a superb rebounding group. Not essentially because the man who’s getting the ball, however boxing out, being in the correct spot. Being in the correct place defensively that results in a troublesome shot, that perhaps doesn’t find yourself with that many angles for offensive boards.”

“I don’t have a precise reply, however I feel a few of these issues play in.”

Parsing via all these components doesn’t clarify the phenomenon, both. Golden State actually does have crew velocity — and so they’re undoubtedly faster than they have been final yr with Chris Paul, Klay Thompson and Dario Saric — however they’re not the quickest crew within the league. They rank seventh in tempo and twentieth in possessions per sport; there aren’t extra rebounding alternatives for the Warriors in a given sport primarily based on their play fashion.

Inexperienced, in the meantime, is averaging his lowest rebounds per sport determine since 2014-15. However Kerr’s level stands: Solely informal followers would ever use primary counting stats to attempt to seize Inexperienced’s affect. He’s at all times in the correct spot defensively, and is likely one of the finest within the league at boxing out, combining his physique positioning, energy and hustle.

Inexperienced has even taught younger middle Trayce Jackson-Davis a trick or two.

“A tip that I’ve type of stolen from Draymond slightly bit is boxing my man out and attempt to tip it out to one in all our guys,” Jackson-Davis mentioned. “Simply rebounding in numbers.”

However even in Inexperienced’s 2016-17 Defensive Participant of the 12 months season, the Warriors have been tied for seventh in rebounding per sport. Not top-two.

A minimum of with this season particularly, Kevon Looney is an apparent X-factor.

Looney, shedding about 20 kilos this offseason by fasting day by day till the afternoon is nimbler. And after falling out of Golden State’s rotation for lengthy stretches final yr, he has been as efficient as ever.

The ten-year veteran already has 5 double-digit rebound video games; he had 11 in 74 video games final season. Looney ranks second in offensive rebounds per sport regardless of enjoying 16.1 minutes per sport. No one has a better rebounding proportion (22.2%) and he scores as many second-chance factors per sport (2.8) as Zion Williamson.

In opposition to Dallas earlier this week, Looney created a myriad of additional possessions with 9 offensive rebounds.

“It’s type of modified my method to how I am going for offensive rebounds,” Looney mentioned of shedding weight. “During the last couple years, I used to be capable of push folks round. I used to be slightly stronger, capable of transfer guys. Going via preseason, I used to be making an attempt to determine what’s going to be my finest approach — utilizing my quickness or being extra bodily. Looking for that mixture of doing each relying on who’s guarding me, what middle I’m going up towards. And I’ve been figuring it out.”

Golden State’s rebounding philosophy goes one thing like this: Gang rebound to shut possessions and crash from the corners selectively on the opposite finish.

That’s not precisely innovation that excites.

However the Warriors have made it work. Looney is a rebounding famous person, and Inexperienced being a generational defender helps rather a lot. Brandin Podziemski is an elite rebounder for his place, as is Gary Payton II. Andrew Wiggins (91st percentile in offensive rebounding at his place) has performed with vitality, as has Jonathan Kuminga.

Taking part in a 12 or 13-man rotation has saved everybody contemporary and bouncy. For those who’re solely anticipated to play in five-minute bursts, it is sensible gamers would give extra constant effort, even on hustle performs and rebounding.

Shot diets on each ends of the court docket is also variables. Lengthy rebounds, which might go 50/50, are extra widespread with groups that shoot loads of 3-pointers. The Warriors take the eighth-most 3s within the league, and power the Seventeenth-most, per Cleansing The Glass. Neither quantity is a smoking gun.

It’s additionally potential that Golden State’s rebounding prowess fades away. Rating twenty third in defensive rebounding proportion is a pink flag. Their early numbers could possibly be juiced by enjoying towards weak opponents (Utah, Washington, Portland) or groups with accidents (Chet Holmgren and the Thunder, Steven Adams with Houston, the Celtics with out Kristaps Porzingis).