NBA SIMS LEAGUE
NSL Insider - Premium: RPG Leadersby spudspace, updated on Sunday, May 02 2021, 05:35 am EST  Rebounds have always been an interesting subject in the 2k world. There are rebound beasts that don’t always make the same impact in real life as they do in the NBA. Usually, rebounds are inflated also, as a good big man rebounder will get a lot more rebounds than his NBA counterpart, many times because of scheme. Watching 2k, you can see this, big men spend less time boxing out than they do in the NBA, and go after offensive rebounds with tenacity. This can lead to some pretty inflated stats, sometimes in the 20s! This season thus far, has not been nearly as bad, with the top rebounder only over 17 rebounds per game, however there are many more players in the NSL in double digit rebounds   As you can see, there is a large difference in this list! Some of the big hitters are missing from the NBA list due to not enough games played. Enough about the differences though, let’s talk about the top 5 and how they are doing compared to their NBA counterpart. 1) Joel Embiid – Center, Indiana Pacers – 17.7 RPG He is averaging 11.0 RPG in the NBA, so a stark 6 RPG difference. What makes him so good in the NSL though? Part of it is that he paired in the front court of Indiana with a player who isn’t as rebound concentrated in Pascal Siakam. This along with playing with a SF in Duncan Robinson who aren’t necessarily in the paint a lot, leaves a lot of rebounds to fall for Joel. He has a solid chance of ending the season in the top spot as he is pretty far ahead of the 2nd place player in this category. 2) Andre Drummond – Center, San Antonio Spurs – 16.2 RPG Drummond is averaging 12.6 RPG in the NBA vs his 16.2 RPG in the NSL, a 3.6 RPG difference. Not nearly as much as Embiid. One of the great things about Drummond is that he is one of the best offensive board getters in the game right now. He is also averaging an amazing 4.6 offensive rebounds per game. The great thing about Drummond is that he does not need the ball a lot, or plays drawn up for him. He scores on cleanup plays, alley-oops, and mess generally. I enjoy that about a big man, he can score without taking anything from the rest of the offense. 3) DeAndre Ayton – Center, Golden State Warriors – 15.0 RPG Ayton is going for 15 versus his NBA self of 10.7, for a 4.3 RPG difference. He is performing well, but he is not necessarily known as a rebounder. In college, this was actually thought of as something he can work on. He is a big body and super athletic, but he may not have heart of a rebounder. I believe this guy is more of a small forward in a centers body. If you watch him play, he is much better at mid-range and outside shooting, with the occasional body bang. One of the things I do like about him is his touch, but the rebounding is impressive too. 4) DeAndre Jordan – Center, New York Knicks – 15.0 RPG Jordon is the biggest difference here, 15 NBA vs 7.5 for a difference of 7.5 RPG. How is this even possible? Well for starters, he is only playing about 22 minutes a game in the NBA, versus a starter’s minutes in New York. Jordan has always been impressive, going back to his days at Texas A&M(bet you didn’t know that), but he has always just been an athletic big guy who does not have a lot of skill. His days as a dominant defender are behind him, but he is still a lob threat, and is one of the strongest guys in the NSL. He has a few more years of board domination to look forward to. 5) Giannis Antetokounmpo – SF/PF/C, Los Angeles Clippers – 14.6 RPG Giannis has been moving around the lineup due to injuries, but we know what he really is, the longest wing player in the game. He is averaging 14.6 versus 11.4 for 3.2 RPG difference. Giannis just gets rebounds out of pure athleticism and length. His 1 dribble from half court dunks are iconic when you re-watch them on YouTube. He is not quite the dominant rebounder that the other four are on this list, but due to sheer size he gets the board. I also think that the Clippers really only have one other player in Sabonis that even cares about rebounding, so this helps immensely |
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