With Chris Bosh out of the line-up, the Raptors are missing more than just his scoring.
There is a popular sports drink that asks the question, "Is it in you?" Perhaps this is a query the Toronto Raptors should be posing to one another when it comes to the team's rebounding.
In Sunday’s loss to the Charlotte Bobcats, Toronto was soundly beaten on the glass as Charlotte grabbed 13 more rebounds than Toronto. But, the most telling stat coming out of the rebounding disparity was Charlotte outscoring Toronto 32-0 in second chance points. Rebounding efforts like the one the other night in Charlotte -- or should I say lack of rebounding effort -- will nullify all the defensive improvements Toronto has made this season.
With their best player, Chris Bosh, out of the line-up for at least the next two games, all the focus was centered on the offence. Who gets more touches? Where will the scoring come from without the team's leader? Well, the other end of the court is a concern as well and while he is not discussed as a defensive or rebounding stalwart, Bosh is the team's best rebounder and ranks 34th in the NBA in shot blocking.
The team needs to rebound better without Bosh. The old cliché about everybody doing a little more has to apply now to the Raptors without Bosh. It's not just the big players that have to pick up the slack. The guards have to pinch back in the lane to get long rebounds and every player needs to make a more conscious effort.
The question remains, is it in you?
Head coach Sam Mitchell has said that rebounding can't be taught and he is both right and wrong with that statement. You certainly can teach technique and drill situations so players can recognize how and when certain skills should be used.
Let's talk about the entire league here, not just the Raptors. When was the last time you watched an NBA game and saw a defensive player on the weak side, away from the ball, step out to neutralize the space between himself and an offensive player, box out and rebound the basketball? Face guarding, where you face your man and basically adopt the role of an offensive lineman and shield your opponent from the basket by putting your body on him and looking him in the eye is another technique that can be utilized but only a select few in the NBA choose to do it.
What you can't teach is the desire to go and get the ball. You just have to be wired that way. Yep, some wires can get crossed and for a couple of games a short circuit can cause some players to be rebounding demons but over the long haul, it has to be a part of a player’s psyche.
Some of the great rebounders were so focused on caroms that they hurt their teams in other ways for the sake of rebounding. Bob Hill, former NBA coach, once discussed the challenges of convincing one of the NBA's great rebounders, Dennis Rodman, who he coached in San Antonio, to rotate and leave his man as part of the team's defensive scheme. Rodman often would stay with his man, not rotate and give an offensive player an open shot because if he moved he was giving up prime rebounding position.
Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, who played with Rodman in Detroit, said while some players used to talk about scoring 30, 40 or 50 points in a game, Rodman would talk about his goal of getting 30 rebounds in a game.
There is nobody close to possessing Rodman's attitude on the current Toronto roster -- and some of that is a good thing for the franchise -- but they need to have some players convinced that if they don't rebound without Chris Bosh they are going to be sitting at home in early May.
It was Rodman that gave an impromptu speech to some of the Raptor players in their hotel bar in New Jersey last spring as they were in the midst of their first round playoff series with the Nets. He happened to be in town for a wedding and his rambling was poignant and passionate. Right now the Raptors could sure use a whole lot of his rebounding attitude and know how.
They have a few more games without their best rebounder and the rest of the season to answer the question. Is it in you?
