Moses Brown can help the Cavs with their rebounding woes

Who is to blame for the Cavs’ rebounding woes?

This hasn’t necessarily been a function of the Cavs’ play at center. Kevin Love ranks 11th in the league in defensive rebound percentage, and Allen ranks 19th. Both are also in the top-20 in overall rebounding percentage. Yet things drop off significantly from there as you look at the rest of their “big” guys.

Evan Mobley is incredibly slight as a 7′ rookie who weighs just 215 pounds; he will need time to build muscle and strength. It’s not surprising that his rebounding has lagged behind, but it’s a reality. He’s a high-minute player at the two big positions and has a rebounding percentage of just 13.2 percent, 11th-worst among players 6’11” or taller this season (minimum 200 minutes played).

What is even worse for the Cavs is that Lauri Markkanen tops that list; his rebounding percentage of 9.9 percent is the worst of all players 6’11” or taller. His height does not seem to help him rebound at anything approximating a great level. Zooming in to just defensive rebounding, Markkanen ranks just sixth-worst, although each player ahead of him is a low-minutes backup. Markkanen plays 30.2 minutes per game.

It doesn’t get any better from there, as Cedi Osman, Darius Garland and Isaac Okoro all rank among the worst rebounders in the league. Other than Love and Dean Wade there aren’t any players in the rotation who are plus rebounders for their size/position.

The question thus becomes: can Moses Brown help?