[Forsberg] Celtics’ rebounding has been offensive amid 0-3 start to season
October 27, 2025
[Forsberg] Celtics’ rebounding has been offensive amid 0-3 start to season
14 comments
From Chris Forsberg:
Pat Riley is famous for coining the expression, “No rebounds, no rings.” The 2025-26 Boston Celtics are learning the hard way: “No rebounds, no wins.”
It’s only been three games, but the Celtics have been almost impossibly bad at rebounding opponents’ missed shots to start the 2025-26 season. Opponents have grabbed a staggering 41.6 percent of their own missed shots, the worst mark in the league by nearly 4 percent.
The Celtics’ rebounding woes are not entirely unexpected. You don’t lose Kristaps Porzignis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet and not experience some growing pains while rebuilding your frontcourt. All members of Boston’s new stable of big men — led by Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, and Chris Boucher — have been average defensive rebounders at best throughout their careers.
Maybe the most glaring absence on the glass is that of rehabbing All-Star Jayson Tatum. For the past five seasons, Tatum has ranked in the 93rd percentile or better among forwards in defensive rebound percentage, per Cleaning the Glass data. He peaked in the 99th percentile last season while grabbing 20.4 percent of the team’s available defensive rebounds during his floor time.
The Celtics have routinely gone small this season to maximize their remaining offensive skill. It’s hindered them in their rebounding quest. That 6-foot-2 Payton Pritchard is leading the team in total rebounds hammers home Boston’s overall rebounding woes.
Wow a frontcourt of Hauser, Queta, Garza, and Boucher is getting dominated on the glass? No way
Good tank design by Brad tbh
Brad ftw again! Let everyone play with a chip on their shoulder, no bigs ensures tank, get draft pick, hungry players emerge like hugo. Sign bigs, get JT next year and we gassing.
It’s honestly genius tank design. We all already knew that Garza and Co aren’t a real frontcourt solution. Queta is a rotation guy at best – and he’s getting the chance to prove he is a legit rotation guy for the future.
Meanwhile, we get to show off Simons’ full potential in hopes of a deadline deal and see what JB can and can’t do as the undisputed #1 guy since the offense is pretty much working as intended.
Roster just isn’t good.
I think we just have to go double-big when Queta isn’t in the game. Boucher should be playing 24mpg because he AND either Garza or Tillman should be in when Queta is out. Unfortunately, Queta can only play 24 minutes because he fouls so much.
Right now, the Hauser/Queta front-court combo has a +21 +/-. They haven’t been the problem. It’s what comes after.
Also, I find it odd that our biggest issue is rebounding, Pritchard is our 2nd leading rebounder, our starting lineup is doing very well, and people want him benched.
And Mazzulla is benching guys for not getting boards like a high school coach
Yeah there really wasn’t a way to avoid this with JT out and the new dumbass cap rules.
Course we’re also playing all good rebounding teams so it should look a little better at some point
For some reason I read the title as OFFensive instead of ofFENsive and thought “what do you mean, we suck rebounding on both ends of the court ohhh I get it”
Oh really? You mean the team that’s frontcourt is Hugo Gonzalez, Nemias Quete, Chris Boucher, Luka Garza, and Xavier Tilman is bad at rebounding?
Brad built a tanking roster. There is no way this team with that frontcourt was expected to be competitive. You combine that with two undersized guards at the PG slot and you have one of the least athletic, most undersized rosters in the NBA. This team is horrible.
The mixed signals were very frustrating. Tatum goes down but the team projects a positive image of competing and contending and working hard. Meanwhile the front office lets Horford, Porzingis, and Jrue all walk.
We are now 0-3 and really not competitive whatsoever. This team is a Jaylen Brown injury from being the worst roster in the entire NBA. There are 0 young players worth anything, MAYBE Hugo can stick as an NBA player. He has much to prove.
This is a disaster roster. 30-52 feels generous. And even worse, the main goal of the front office is to get under the Hard Cap to reset our repeated tax – which means this roster will be DOWNGRADING even further. Horrible.
Garza might be the least athletic player I’ve ever seen, can’t jump over a curb and has the heaviest feet I’ve seen by a player that’s not even 7 ft tall
the Celtics being terrible at rebounding is one of the least surprising things going on in the NBA so far. not sure why it’s worth writing about like some kind of shocking development
14 comments
From Chris Forsberg:
Pat Riley is famous for coining the expression, “No rebounds, no rings.” The 2025-26 Boston Celtics are learning the hard way: “No rebounds, no wins.”
It’s only been three games, but the Celtics have been almost impossibly bad at rebounding opponents’ missed shots to start the 2025-26 season. Opponents have grabbed a staggering 41.6 percent of their own missed shots, the worst mark in the league by nearly 4 percent.
Consider this: The Celtics ranked seventh in the NBA last season while allowing opponents to grab just 28.3 percent of their misses. [Sunday in Detroit](https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/live-updates-pistons-highlights-analysis-jaylen-brown/741974/), the Pistons rebounded an absurd 47.4 percent of their own missed shots, the highest output by any team in the league this season.
That result came just days after the Knicks [grabbed 45.5 percent of their misses against Boston](https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/live-updates-knicks-highlights-analysis-jaylen-brown/741642/). The Pistons turned 19 offensive rebounds into 32 second-chance points, while the Knicks generated 21 second-chance points off 21 offensive rebounds.
Boston’s best work on the glass: [Allowing the Sixers to corral 32.2 percent of their misses](https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/live-updates-philadelphia-76ers-opening-night-td-garden-boston/741112/). And yet Philadelphia was uber-efficient on those second chances, generating 21 points off 10 offensive rebounds while making 7 of 8 second-chance shots.
The Celtics’ rebounding woes are not entirely unexpected. You don’t lose Kristaps Porzignis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet and not experience some growing pains while rebuilding your frontcourt. All members of Boston’s new stable of big men — led by Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, and Chris Boucher — have been average defensive rebounders at best throughout their careers.
Maybe the most glaring absence on the glass is that of rehabbing All-Star Jayson Tatum. For the past five seasons, Tatum has ranked in the 93rd percentile or better among forwards in defensive rebound percentage, per Cleaning the Glass data. He peaked in the 99th percentile last season while grabbing 20.4 percent of the team’s available defensive rebounds during his floor time.
The Celtics have routinely gone small this season to maximize their remaining offensive skill. It’s hindered them in their rebounding quest. That 6-foot-2 Payton Pritchard is leading the team in total rebounds hammers home Boston’s overall rebounding woes.
[Read more here](https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/rebounding-stats-second-chance-points/742456/).
Cam Boozer come on down!
Wow a frontcourt of Hauser, Queta, Garza, and Boucher is getting dominated on the glass? No way
Good tank design by Brad tbh
Brad ftw again! Let everyone play with a chip on their shoulder, no bigs ensures tank, get draft pick, hungry players emerge like hugo. Sign bigs, get JT next year and we gassing.
It’s honestly genius tank design. We all already knew that Garza and Co aren’t a real frontcourt solution. Queta is a rotation guy at best – and he’s getting the chance to prove he is a legit rotation guy for the future.
Meanwhile, we get to show off Simons’ full potential in hopes of a deadline deal and see what JB can and can’t do as the undisputed #1 guy since the offense is pretty much working as intended.
Roster just isn’t good.
I think we just have to go double-big when Queta isn’t in the game. Boucher should be playing 24mpg because he AND either Garza or Tillman should be in when Queta is out. Unfortunately, Queta can only play 24 minutes because he fouls so much.
Right now, the Hauser/Queta front-court combo has a +21 +/-. They haven’t been the problem. It’s what comes after.
Also, I find it odd that our biggest issue is rebounding, Pritchard is our 2nd leading rebounder, our starting lineup is doing very well, and people want him benched.
And Mazzulla is benching guys for not getting boards like a high school coach
Yeah there really wasn’t a way to avoid this with JT out and the new dumbass cap rules.
Course we’re also playing all good rebounding teams so it should look a little better at some point
For some reason I read the title as OFFensive instead of ofFENsive and thought “what do you mean, we suck rebounding on both ends of the court ohhh I get it”
Oh really? You mean the team that’s frontcourt is Hugo Gonzalez, Nemias Quete, Chris Boucher, Luka Garza, and Xavier Tilman is bad at rebounding?
Brad built a tanking roster. There is no way this team with that frontcourt was expected to be competitive. You combine that with two undersized guards at the PG slot and you have one of the least athletic, most undersized rosters in the NBA. This team is horrible.
The mixed signals were very frustrating. Tatum goes down but the team projects a positive image of competing and contending and working hard. Meanwhile the front office lets Horford, Porzingis, and Jrue all walk.
We are now 0-3 and really not competitive whatsoever. This team is a Jaylen Brown injury from being the worst roster in the entire NBA. There are 0 young players worth anything, MAYBE Hugo can stick as an NBA player. He has much to prove.
This is a disaster roster. 30-52 feels generous. And even worse, the main goal of the front office is to get under the Hard Cap to reset our repeated tax – which means this roster will be DOWNGRADING even further. Horrible.
Garza might be the least athletic player I’ve ever seen, can’t jump over a curb and has the heaviest feet I’ve seen by a player that’s not even 7 ft tall
the Celtics being terrible at rebounding is one of the least surprising things going on in the NBA so far. not sure why it’s worth writing about like some kind of shocking development