Indiana Pacers: What’s Most Important When Playing Atlanta?
The Team With More Rebounds Will Win
Rebounding will be one of the biggest keys to this game. When the Hawks out-rebound their opponent, they have a record of 14-3. With a record that good, rebounding is obviously a very important stat for the majority of Hawks’ wins this season. Likewise, the Pacers also have an impressive record when they bring down more rebounds than their opponent, going 15-5 so far this year.
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With two teams so dependent on out-rebounding whoever they’re playing, that stat comes front and center for keys to the game. It also means that the margin for who grabs more rebounds will be paper-thin. Most likely, it will be a margin of less than five.
With rebounding being a huge factor, the Pacers have the advantage. They average 43.9 rebounds per game, while the Hawks only average 41. Even though the margin is only a 2.9 difference, that could determine who wins and loses the game.
The Pacers have a higher average in both offensive and defensive rebounds per game, but offensive rebounds per game is higher. They average 10.6 rebounds per game and the Hawks average 8.4. With that being said, that advantage could lead to more second chance points for the Pacers and any NBA team that gets more than one chance on a possession is a very dangerous team.
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