Rookies To The Rescue?
When the team brought Dario Saric, Joel Embiid, and Ben Simmons to the team, the hope was that this trio of rookies could help pull down the ball and get the team somewhere near an average NBA team’s share of rebounds.
Hoops Habit
Instead, the team has not seen much from last year’s rebound leaders. Nerlens Noel has yet to step onto the basketball court this year. Jahlil Okafor has been very limited so far with playable minutes. Robert Covington, in the midst of a scoring slump, has been far less effective with rebounds this season as well. And Jerami Grant, who came in off the bench to spark defensive play, has been dealt.
But we have those rookies? Not quite. At least, not yet.
On top of the struggles from returning players, the team has yet to see any impact from Ben Simmons. Even Joel Embiid has been limited in his playing time.
Without Simmons, the team has been forced to rely upon the traditional point guard, currently Sergio Rodriguez. Without a healthy Nerlens Noel, the team has noone coming off the bench who excels at the boards. With minutes restrictions on both Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid, rebounds are currently only a fraction of the pairs true presence.