Deandre Ayton speaks ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers playoff series against the Houston Rockets.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets are set to meet in the first round of the NBA Playoffs in the four vs. five matchup.
The series tips off on Saturday with Game One in Los Angeles.
Ahead of the game, Deandre Ayton spoke with the media and was asked what makes the Rockets such a good offensive rebounding team.
"They are super athletic and physical. Since I've been in the league, Houston has always been a team where everybody hits the glass. That's how they get their rhythm going and extra possessions. That's what drives their team. We have to match that," he said.
Rockets On The Glass
The Rockets led the league in offensive rebounding percentage, grabbing 38% of the available opportunities. They were 3% better than the Charlotte Hornets, who were second in the league at 35.8%.
Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson each averaged three offensive rebounds per game.
Steven Adams led the league in offensive rebounding, averaging 4.7 per game, but he's been sidelined since January when he underwent season ending ankle surgery.
Despite Adams being out of the lineup, the Rockets were still second in offensive rebounding percentage since the All-Star, coming in at 36.4%, showing that they get the job done on the glass by committee.
Houston was second in total rebounding percentage since the All-Star break, grabbing 54.1% of the boards.
Lakers On The Glass
The Lakers were a mediocre rebounding team since the All-Star break, and those numbers are going to dip slightly with Luka Doncic out of the lineup as he accounts for nearly eight rebounds per game.
Since the All-Star break, the Lakers were 17th on the defensive glass and 18th in total percentage.
Ayton averaged a career low eight rebounds per game, though part of that was by design as the team liked getting the ball into the hands of Luka, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James on rebounds to either push the ball up the floor or take advantage of a non-set defense without any delays.
Ayton, James, Rui Hachimura, and the entire team will have to make a collective effort on the glass for the Lakers to be successful.
The Lakers won the season series 2-1, but they lost the rebounding battle in every game. The Rockets won the overall rebounding battle 130-91.
With Doncic and Reaves expected to miss the start of the series, thus limiting their offensive firepower, the Lakers can't afford to give extra possessions to the Rockets