Erik Spoelstra Gives His Thoughts on Hornets' Rebounding Success

Miami's coach gave his analysis.

The Miami Heat are in Charlotte to take on the Hornets on Wednesday night. Ahead of tipoff, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra sat down with reporters to talk about the matchup.

We know that the Hornets have been snake-bitten by injuries this season, particularly when it comes to their centers. Nick Richards has been out since the fifth game of the season, and Mark Williams is still yet to appear on the hardwood this year.

Despite this, the Hornets rank fifth in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game headed into Wednesday night’s game with Miami. I asked coach Spoelstra about why he feels this is the case.

“Emphasis,” said Spoelstra. “They have some good rebounders. The two guys that are out are big-time rebounders. The kid off the bench is relentless on the glass, and that’s something that we’ve shored up a little bit the last two weeks but we know we have to be on top of it tonight.

“Now, a lot of that stems from some kind of drive attack. They shoot a ton of threes, so you’re scrambling around. You’ve got to finish plays off with a block out and pursuit.”

It is interesting to hear this analysis from such a master of X’s and O’s like Spo. He is of course referring to Moussa Diabate in speaking of “the kid off the bench,” given his surprising rebounding prowess. Diabate is averaging 8.1 rebounds in just 18.9 minutes per night, mostly off the bench.

Charles Lee has certainly implemented an offensive system wherein Charlotte has been getting a lot of three-point attempts up. Naturally, it makes sense that this would lead to more chances for offensive rebounds and extra possessions.