Phoenix Suns: 3 Ways to Stop The Clippers From Making This a Series

Phoenix Suns need to win the rebounding battle

Perhaps nothing tells this series’s story better than the rebounding totals for each team. During Game 1, the Suns hauled in 43 rebounds to LA’s 39, leading to a victory. For Game 2, which went decided by only one point, both teams notched 39 rebounds.

But during Los Angeles’s lone win, you guessed it, they won the battle on the boards for the first time by a 51-43 tally. With the rebounding race so consistently resembling each game’s final result thus far, the Suns must make glass eating a serious priority during the games yet to come.

Old fashion effort usually influences a team’s rebounding total the most, but positioning plays a role as well. Going forward, the Suns absolutely cannot allow Zubac to enjoy another dominant night rebounding the ball. The seven-footer from Croatia grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds during Game 3, the most for him since early February.

The Suns essentially got caught sleeping against him last night, but need to box out more effectively down the road. Like with the earlier mentioned paint-based scoring objective, this starts with Ayton, but also extends to the entire team as well.

Both Paul and Booker secured rebound totals last night fewer than their postseason averages. Playing against a team with their starting shooting guard coming as their leading rebounder (George with 9.1 RPG), greater defensive positioning against him to take away a few boards remains a must.