Someone way back — well, at least farther back than the weekend — once said, “Rebounds equal rings.”
The Heat have disputed the point. Now the Nets hope to do the same.
Last season, Miami was regularly outrebounded — in the regular season, 40.1 to 38.6; in the Finals by the Spurs, 41.9 to 39.7. Funny, none remember LeBron James or coach Erik Spoelstra getting all misty and saying, “This title would have meant so much more had only we been better rebounders.”
So when you take a quick glance at the Nets’ rebound numbers dating to Jan. 1, then “Rebounds equal confusion.” The Nets have regularly been crushed on the glass. The Nets have regularly won — so too have the Heat.
“We’re undersized,” Deron Williams said. “We’re playing small-ball right now and I think we have to do a better job of rebounding, but we’re getting away with it — but we don’t want to make a habit out of it.”
How do you get away with it? Well, force 28 turnovers as they did Monday in a 96-80 rout of the Bulls that got them back to .500. The slop-fest included an NBA season high-tying 19 steals.
“That will definitely help. We’re able to cause a lot of turnovers, a lot of fast-break points. And so that definitely helps,” said Williams, who noted the Nets big men accepted a challenge from coach Jason Kidd to step up in Kevin Garnett’s absence due to back spasms. “He said when KG is out, our defense drops off a lot and I think those guys have taken that to heart and have wanted to prove him wrong.”
They proved it Monday without defensive anchor Garnett, who sat a second straight game — both victories. Garnett did not practice Tuesday and again is listed as a gametime decision when the Nets host the Grizzlies Wednesday at Barclays Center. Mason Plumlee started for Garnett the past two games.
It was on Jan. 1 when the Nets, then a 10-21 train wreck, said, “Let’s get small.” Guard Joe Johnson became a forward, small forward Paul Pierce became a power forward and the two-point guard starting alignment became firmly entrenched.
Since New Year’s, which began with a road upset of the Thunder, the Nets are the NBA’s worst rebounding team at 37.3 per game.
But they’ve also been one of the league’s most successful teams, with a 19-8 record. The Heat posted near mirror numbers. They are the league’s second-worst rebounding team (37.4), but have compiled a 19-7 record.
What gives? Well, 61-point games from James help. But so does what the Nets have done. Since Jan. 1, they’ve forced more turnovers (17.4) than any team in the league — and that includes a league-best 9.9 steals a game.
“If we can combine both, if we can get those, force turnovers and rebounding, it puts us on another level as a team,” Plumlee said. “But we have to rebound, we can’t try to make up for it in another way.”
Hey, it has worked so far. If you can’t be big, real big, be pests. Real big pests.
“We’re just trying to use our quickness,” Johnson said. “We’re not the biggest down low but we’ve managed to stay poised and stay focused and still run the game plan.”
And even do so when Garnett and his leadership are absent. Coach Jason Kidd challenged them on that point, and they’ve shown a lot.
“Active hands,” Kidd said. “Guys understanding that we sometimes struggle rebounding the ball so we need to pick it up in another area … , and getting our hands on balls and being able to get deflections and steals helped us [against Chicago]. And it’s helped us throughout the season.”
And the Nets are hoping it helps them all the way deep into the playoffs.