CAMDEN, N.J. -- As the Philadelphia 76ers got back to work at practice on Friday afternoon, the focus was on the rebounding issues they've had to endure recently. They were out-rebounded 53-38 in a loss to the New York Knicks on Jan. 24, 53-33 in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, and 46-24 in the win over the Sacramento Kings.
After the win, Paul George did admit the Sixers are a bit undersized compared to some teams. He and Kelly Oubre Jr. flank Joel Embiid up front while teams like the Kings can employ big men like Domantas Sabonis, Precious Achiuwa, and Maxime Raynaud to cause problems down low. It nearly cost the Sixers a win.
The rebounding problem is something that can certainly cause some issues for the Sixers in the playoffs and coach Nick Nurse is looking to nip it in the bud going forward.
"I think that there's a few things," Nurse pondered on Friday. "I mean, sometimes it's size and athleticism, right? Playing against bigger guys, more athletic, stronger, whatever. Sometimes, it’s just not paying attention to details and getting a body on people. Then sometimes, I think it's a little bit like defense in general, right?"
It is a bit like defense. As once a guy gets going and finds a rhythm, he's tough to stop, but it's the same with offensive rebounding and scoring off misses. Sacramento had 24 second-chance points compared to zero for Philadelphia.
"You give up a few, and then the blood's in the water, and those guys really seem to get cranked up after they've got to get a couple, and they're just like, ‘Man, this is an easy way to live tonight. I'm gonna really, you know, kind of focus on that.’" Nurse continued. "So it's a little bit like trying to shut a guy's water off when he's scoring, too. How do you figure it out?"
Therefore, Nurse and his staff will be looking to make sure everybody understands what has to be done going forward. The Sixers will not win unless they figure out how to pull down rebounds consistently. This will be something to monitor going into the playoffs in April.
"It takes some thought," Nurse added. "It takes some effort. It takes some thought. It takes some scheme. Sometimes, it takes two guys on certain like—Sabonis is a guy you need to probably use two guys on. He’s very good at doing all this pushing as the guy’s in a shooting motion. He's gonna wedge most guys underneath the basket and the only ones that are you're gonna get are the ones that come through the net, right? So somebody's got to come from the backside to help on those and things like that."
There have been matchups when the Sixers have been able to control the glass which then turns games in their favor, but these recent contests have been a serious struggle for them. At practice, Nurse showed clips on film to his team looking to get back to getting it done on the glass.
"We've been pretty good at that, and that was a lot of the clips we showed today," Nurse added. "We showed, like, here's one where you have to come and help guys because even, like, even him, those guys were blocking him out in front of him. The balls were coming over the head, and that's got to be somebody else's."
The Sixers will host the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Nick Nurse talks Sixers being undersized amid rebounding struggles