The Boston Celtics just pulled off a 124-113 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first preseason game, but that score doesn’t even tell half the story. The real headline? Boston absolutely owned the offensive glass, hauling in a ridiculous 21 offensive rebounds and grabbing 46.9% of their own misses. Yeah, you read that right.
The Glass Attack is RELENTLESS
Seriously, 21 offensive rebounds in one game is insane, especially when you consider they did it without Mitchell Robinson, who was literally the best offensive rebounder in the league last season, gobbling up 21.2% of the Knicks’ misses when he was on the court. So who stepped up? Rookies Chris Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell each snagged four offensive boards. And then there’s Luka Garza, who was an absolute animal with four offensive rebounds himself, three of those coming in just the first five minutes of the game! Garza just knows how to get into position, but a lot of the time it’s just pure, relentless effort. You can tell from how much he sweats that dude leaves it all out there.
This isn’t some random fluke, either. Last year, the Celtics were already 5th in the league in offensive rebounding rate at 31.8%. A lot of their success comes from crashing the wings, with guys like Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, and Hugo Gonzalez making that a habit. You can bet that’s gonna be a huge part of their game plan this season, too.
Last Year’s Playoff Pain, This Year’s Promise
Here’s the thing, that offensive rebounding prowess dipped in the playoffs last year, falling to 30.4% and 11th in the league. You know what happened then, right? They lost to the 76ers in Round 1. That drop-off in offensive boards played a part in that early exit. But if this preseason showing is any indication, they’ve got that fire back.
The Celtics should be really good this year, and their dominance on the offensive glass is gonna be a massive reason why. If they can keep this energy up, especially when it really matters, it’s going to be a nightmare for opposing teams. They’ll definitely need to carry this offensive rebounding monster into the postseason if they want to make a deep run.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Celtics Blog.
Leave a Reply