The Liberty have a rebounding problem.
It’s odd considering New York shared the title with the Sky as the best rebounding team in the league last season.
But the Liberty have been outrebounded in more games than not.
On average, opponents grab 2.5 more boards per game than New York.
The Liberty have surrendered the most offensive boards (10 per game) and second-chance points (12.1.)
Sandy Brondello has been harping about rebounding all season, but with less than three weeks of the season left, it’s still a major topic of discussion.
Thursday’s loss to the Sky featured a major breakdown in the battle of the boards.
The Liberty were outrebounded 42-27.
Breanna Stewart being sidelined definitely impacts the rebounding battle.
She snatches an average of 6.5 rebounds per game.
The rebounding trouble isn’t a Stewart or Jonquel Jones problem alone.
It’s a team-wide issue that needs to be addressed.
The players acknowledged as much Thursday night.
“It’s tough. It doesn’t fall always in the hands of the bigs,” Sabrina Ionescu said. “I think guards have to get in there and try to help them. Because obviously the bigs are getting dragged out and not under the basket to just get them and so I think it’s just a collective effort from everyone that maybe isn’t used to going in there and having to rebound and now understanding everyone has to get those rebounds and 50-50 balls because they can cost you a game.”
The Dream, Saturday’s opponent in Atlanta, lead the league in rebounding this season, averaging 36.2 boards per game.
It helps, of course, that the Dream have Brionna Jones and Brittney Griner, but Naz Hillman, Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard are also really active rebounders.
Winning the battle of the boards will be crucial for Saturday’s game.
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It’ll take a team effort.
“We got to do a better job as the bigs boxing out and then guards flying in,” Leonie Fiebich said. “[No] missing box outs or just getting out-hustled. We’ve got to do a better job in these upcoming games.”
