About this time a week ago, I Four Factors category: offensive rebounding percentage. With Kosta Koufos patrolling the boards like offensive rebounds provided their essential lifeforce, the Nuggets raced out to an NBA-best 31.4 percent offensive rebound rate during the regular season.
Of course, Golden State was naturally built to neutralize that weapon: the Warriors finished the regular season No. 1 in defensive rebound percentage at 75.5 percent of all available boards. That would mean no lifeforce for Faried or Koufos... if, you know, the Warriors didn't have their leading rebounder come down with Old Man Back Problems (actually, a torn hip flexor) after Game 1.
Strangely enough, though, Lee's injury hasn't seemed to make a difference on the rebounding side: the Nuggets only grabbed a pitiful 16.7 percent of offensive boards in Game 2 and barely above the league average (but below their own season average) at 26.8 percent of offensive boards in Game 3. Game 4's 35.3 percent offensive rebound rate was a minor return to normalcy, but it still wasn't enough.
The issue isn't just one player. In fact, offensive rebounding seems to be down across the board. Five different Nuggets played in at least regular-season 39 games and grabbed at least 10 percent of offensive rebounds (including Timofey Mosgov, who hasn't played in the playoffs). So far this series? Zero. Zilch. Nada.
| Player | Season ORB% | Playoffs ORB% | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kosta Koufos | 13.3% | 9.4% | -3.9% |
| Kenneth Faried | 13.2% | 7.1% | -6.1% |
| JaVale McGee | 12.6% | 9.1% | -3.5% |
| Anthony Randolph | 10.1% | 0.0% | -10.1% |
Granted, Kenneth Faried may be hobbling around like a broken man, but there hasn't been a single person around the pick up the slack. In fact, the only Nuggets player with a higher offensive rebound percentage than his regular season total is Andre Miller, who has posted an unsustainable and surprisingly team-leading 9.4 percent ORB% in four games. During the regular season, he was 10th on the team with a 3.2 percent rate.
Well, so much for that competitive advantage. Especially when Golden State is shooting this well, you need to find another way to take control of the game. Unfortunately for the Nuggets, their go-to option simply hasn't been working.