A year ago, the Phoenix Suns rebounding weakness became even more pronounced when the loss of second-best rebounder Dario Saric (torn ACL) eventually cost them a championship against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Milwaukee leveled up against the Suns in the last three games of that series, grabbing 78% of all available defensive boards (Suns misses). But even worse, they grabbed 34% of all the available offensive boards (their own misses) — leading to 15 points per game coming on ‘second chance’ opportunities. Quite the disparity, and a killer for a Suns team that shot the ball well but not quite good enough.