The Washington Wizards are one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the NBA. As of the early afternoon of 11/28, they give up the second most offensive rebounds on average – 13.6, with opposing teams converting this into 16.1 2nd chance points per game (fourth most in the NBA).
The attention often turns to Daniel Gafford, the team’s rim protector, to determine what is going on. When Gafford is on the floor, the team is giving up 0.33 offensive rebounds per minute – the most on a team by a large margin. For context, Jordan Poole, Kyle Kuzma and Corey Kispert average 0.29. Landry Shamet and Mike Muscala average a 0.23.
Gafford does have the weakness of overcommitting to protecting the rim. At times, this takes away his ability to reasonably box-out because he falls out of position attempting the block. [An example is Clint Capela getting the tip-in because Gafford falls under the basket attempting to guard him down low](https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&GameEventID=303&GameID=0022300241&Season=2023-24&flag=1&title=Capela REBOUND (Off%3A3 Def%3A1). Bilal Coulibaly could be noted for not appropriately fighting for the board.
It doesn’t excuse the fact that Gafford does have poor rebounding IQ. Against the Nets, he secures the position against but doesn’t read the bounce appropriately. Instead of keeping the box out, he stretches out for the rebound which allows the Nets to tip it back out. [Another instance of his poor reaction is Claxton punishing a lazy box-out to fight through for the offensive board](https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&GameEventID=47&GameID=0022300178&Season=2023-24&flag=1&title=Claxton REBOUND (Off%3A3 Def%3A1).
It could be fatigue at some points – such as letting Capela slide in and secure the offensive board. But then there are times where his team doesn’t help him out. [The Wizards wings being slow to run in transition allows for a quick three point attempt where Gafford isn’t in position to contest the board](https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&GameEventID=83&GameID=0022300178&Season=2023-24&flag=1&title=Bridges REBOUND (Off%3A2 Def%3A3).
This is where it becomes difficult to blame him.
The Wizards hard commit to defensive rotations that often put him in a precarious position. Gafford looks to close out on the three point attempt after Deni Avdija is slow to rotate and he’ll lose the position for the offensive board. The bigger issue is how Avdija follows his momentum out of bounds. He is no longer in a position to contest the offensive board or will have to hustle to re-join the court.
This trend is more apparent when Gafford is off the floor. Against the Hawks, Kyle Kuzma rotates to close out the corner three attempt. He follows his momentum, which allows for Saddiq Bey to follow his shot and secure the offensive board. In another possession, four Wizards collapse on the drive and the Hawks punish with by kicking out to the corner. Corey Kispert rushes to defend a potential swing pass, only to lose the ability to box-out Dejounte Murray. Kispert is a bad offender when it comes to this – he’ll often rotate out of position thinking it is to contest and then get beat for the board.
There are other bad actors when it comes to the rebounding on the Wizards. Bilal Coulibaly, as previously mentioned, does have his share of woes. He’ll sometimes get out-muscled for the board. Or he’ll have poor reads. And then there are the miscommunication rebounds – typically between Kuzma and Avdija fighting for a board and losing control.
The point is, as much Daniel Gafford could do to improve his positioning to secure the defensive boards, the Washington Wizards as a whole do a fair amount to make his life more difficult. The heavy switching nature of the team requires a large amount of hustle and speed that is difficult to repeat on a possession-by-possession basis. Because the Wizards play such a high pace of basketball, fatigue to their lone, consistent big man is expected and the team doesn’t necessarily do a ton to protect him. This also took place last season in a different manner, where Wizards defenders would let their match-up run through the paint, hoping that Gafford could clean-up their mess.
The Wizards haven’t necessarily looked to fix this problem for understandable reasons. They’re in the better half of the NBA when it comes to opponent 3P FG% and force the eighth most turnovers in the NBA. While giving up 124 points a night, their defensive style is meant to lead to better transition basketball and play into their high tempo game of choice. When it works, it is great. When it doesn’t, it leads to Giannis Antetokounmpo making Daniel Gafford look silly.
I think the fact that Gafford is still #7 in blocks and #6 in box outs across the league despite being so overtasked on defense is a testament to how good he is. Yes, he could certainly stand to grab more boards. A lot of the problem is that his teammates often stand around looking stunned that the ball came to them instead of picking up the damn ball, as you outlined. He just has too many responsibilities and no one else who is really trying to help him. Gallo is the only other player on the team who averages more than 1 box out per game, and he can barely move. That’s sad.