Key #1 – Dominate the glass
Despite boasting an ample amount of length, the Milwaukee Bucks have surprisingly been a very poor rebounding team this season. They’re currently dead last in the league in the rebounds per game (38.6) and second to last in rebound percentage (46.8). These struggles on the boards have led the Bucks to be out-rebounded by an average of 5.3 per game.
Therefore, this is an absolute area where the Jazz have to take advantage and look to gain an edge. Unfortunately, the Utah Jazz haven’t exactly been a great rebounding team either and, of course, without Rudy Gobert in the mix as he continues to recover from an ailing knee, it hasn’t made matters any easier.
Meanwhile, Utah is just 27th in the league in rebounds per game (40.7) and 25th in rebound percentage (47.8). In terms of rebound differential, they’re not as bad as Milwaukee, but their opponents are still grabbing 3.7 more rebounds than them per game.
Bucks win in overtime!!#FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/PHKisOjrQw
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 23, 2017
Oddly enough, despite both teams’ poor rebounding, the Bucks and Jazz are 10th and 11th in the league in opponent second chance points, respectively, which is an interesting testament to their defense after giving up an offensive rebound. Utah should enjoy even more success in this area as Milwaukee is dead last in the league in second chance points themselves.
Therefore, if Utah can dominate the glass and force Milwaukee to keep struggling on the boards, they will likely be able to control the game’s tempo and continue to eradicate an aspect of Milwaukee’s offense that would otherwise lead to several easy points.