Golden State Warriors are winning battle on the glass

It was one of the biggest x-factors entering the second round but the Golden State Warriors have taken the fight directly to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Memphis has their offensive rebounding to thank for a round one victory over Minnesota. It was a toss-up series that came down to numerous second efforts from the Grizzlies to advance to the Western Conference Semi-Finals.

With a matchup set against the Warriors, who are notoriously undersized and commit far too many turnovers, the Grizzlies had an obvious goal in mind: win the battle on the glass, win the series.

Thus far, this has proven to be more difficult than expected for Memphis.

The Golden State Warriors have shown that they can rise to the occasion and take care of business on the glass when a series depends on it.

The Dubs still need to close out the series so I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. Yet, they’ve done everything asked of them to take a commanding 3-1 lead.

Golden State is hauling in 49 rebounds per game in the second round, the most of any team. Though they are deadlocked with Memphis in terms of offensive rebounding, the Dubs are limiting the Grizzlies’ second chance opportunities by securing missed shots on defense.

This is crucial as the Grizzlies are a young team that has been able to bail themselves out of costly mistakes by hustling for extra possessions.

Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green lead the Warriors with 7.5 rebounds per game. Otto Porter Jr. is next at 5.8 while Kevon Looney is chipping in with 5.5 rebounds a night. Jordan Poole rounds out the top five by pulling an average of 5.3 rebounds.

It’s a team effort for Golden State. Everyone is doing their part in boxing out and securing rebounds. When it’s all said and done, this dedication to detail could be the difference.