NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn is arguably one of the most optimistic coaches in the NBA. Whenever he addresses the media, it is with respect and a positive energy as if he’s happy just with the fact that he gets to coach another basketball game regardless of the pressure of winning games. However, after Monday’s 108-102 loss to the Denver Nuggets, he seemed to be more matter-of-fact than he typically is when addressing the team’s struggles with rebounding the basketball.
“We have to accept it,” Vaughn said about the team coming to grips with the fact that they struggle on the glass. “It’s truth. It’s staring us in the face. The scouting report says to try to go offensive rebound versus the Nets.” For the season, Brooklyn is 28th in the league in defensive rebound percentage (73.9%) and allow their opponents to grab 11.5 offensive rebounds per game which ranks 28th. It’s not news that Brooklyn struggles with rebounding, but it is clear that their disadvantage on the boards is playing a part in them losing games.
“We have to understand that,” Vaughn continued. “Really do a diligent job of continuing to try to do it together. We can’t do it with two people or three people… we need all five people to come back and get a piece of somebody.” In Brooklyn’s 39 wins, their defensive rebounding percentage was 70.4% whereas in their losses, it was just 67.4%. The Nets will have to find a way to fix those rebounding issues with the Cleveland Cavaliers coming to town on Tuesday.
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