Washington Wizards: 3 ways Alex Len helps the Wizards
By Ethan Smith
Ways Alex Len will help the Washington Wizards: Rebounding
The Washington Wizards aren’t a good rebounding team, and they haven’t been for awhile. After finishing last season as one of the NBA’s worst rebounding teams, the Wizards currently rank 23rd in team rebounding. That ranking wasn’t going to improve once the Wizards lost Thomas Bryant. Despite averaging a meager 6.1 rebounds per game, Bryant was the Wizards second-leading rebounder behind Russell Westbrook.
By adding Len, the Wizards have added a center that will help in one of the team’s weakest areas. Len, a career backup, has never averaged more than 7.5 rebounds for a single season. His career averaged is 6.8. But, Len has averaged at least 10 rebounds per 36 minutes in each of his seven NBA seasons. Even as a backup center with both the Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings last season, Len put up rebounding numbers (5.8 rpg) that would have made him one of the leaders on the Wizards in that category.
Len won’t completely solve the Wizards’ problems on the boards, but he will help them improve. At least now the team won’t be routinely outmatched in the rebounding department. Through the first 11 games, the Wizards have outrebounded their opponents only twice. And that was with Thomas Bryant.