Yaxel Lendeborg claimed after his second preseason game with the Golden State Warriors that rebounding is easier in the NBA, owing to greater spacing in the league and what he labels as players being more lazy.
That bold claim is about to be put to the test from opening night, with the Warriors expected to be without their man in the middle, 7'3" Kristaps Porzingis who continues to deal with another illness through preseason to date.
Yaxel Lendeborg's rebounding claim about to be put to the test
According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints on Thursday, the Warriors are bracing for Porzingis to miss opening night against the Los Angeles Lakers with an issue that could now stem into November.
That will leave the Warriors without their bonfire starting center, likely meaning they will play smaller as they did against the Lakers on Tuesday night with Gui Santos, Lendeborg and Draymond Green together in a three-forward frontcourt.
Lendeborg had nine rebounds in limited playing time during that matchup, while also grabbing nine boards in his preseason debut against the L.A. Clippers two days earlier. The 24-year-old clearly has the size and instincts for it, and there will be rebounds to be had with Porzingis out of the lineup and with Lendeborg potentially seeing small-ball minutes as a result.
Porzingis isn’t an elite rebounder by any means, but his sheer size and proximity to the rim means he can easily fall in to seven or eight boards that the Warriors, potentially largely through Lendeborg, will now have to make up for.
Yael Lendeborg's rebounding claim might come back to bite him
Lendeborg may have found rebounding easy on Tuesday night against the Lakers, but that was aided by the fact they were playing without their major offseason edition in Walker Kessler. Not to mention that rebounding opportunities are likely to become more limited with the return of their best shot-makers in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Will Lendeborg find it as comfortable and easy with Kessler's 7'2" frame in the middle for the Lakers? The answer to that will surely be no, leaving a chance that the Golden State rookie comes back to bite his early words.
Still, Lendeborg clearly has the confidence to go about making such comments, and based on his early impressions and impact with the Warriors, who’s to say he can’t back it up with more action on the floor.
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