Utah Jazz at Washington Wizards: Keys to the Game

Key Stat – Rebounds

While there’s no questioning that the Wizards have improved in several aspects since the start of the season, allowing them to overcome their dismal 6-11 start, one area that has consistently plagued them has been rebounding. Despite the fact that they play at a much faster pace than the Jazz (99.3 possessions per game compared to 93.5), the Wizards find themselves just one spot above the Jazz in terms of rebounds per game at 43.2.

And while both teams find themselves in the bottom third of the league in the statistical category, Utah’s has a lot to do with their slow pace. When looking at actual rebound differential, the Jazz are fifth in the league, outrebounding opponents by a solid 2.6 boards per game whereas Washington finds themselves in 13th with a differential of just 0.4.

To be honest, this isn’t all that surprising given that outside of Marcin Gortat and to an extent Markieff Morris, the Wizards don’t exactly boast a roster full of topnotch rebounders. Therefore, Utah will need to make sure to do a good job of cleaning up the boards and keeping Washington off the glass given that it is a highly exploitable area of weakness for them.

Despite not being a great rebounding team, Washington is decent at second chance points and exceptional in transition, so it will be important for Utah to take those two areas away as well by controlling the boards.