2. The Los Angeles Lakers won’t rebound as poorly as they did in Game 3
Perhaps the biggest anomaly for the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 is how poorly the team rebounded the basketball. Anthony Davis was only able to secure two rebounds and the Lakers as a unit only hauled in 34 rebounds.
That is surprising considering the Lakers are the team that has the size advantage and has had that advantage throughout the entire playoffs. It was one of those off nights for the Lakers and it is hard to put it any other way.
Where the Lakers were really burned, though, was the offensive rebounds. The Nuggets did a fantastic job of keeping the Lakers from racking up the offensive boards.
The Lakers averaged 10.6 offensive rebounds per game in the regular season and only had four in this game. If they would have hauled in the other six (assuming they made all of the second-chance points, which is not a guarantee) then they would have had 40 rebounds and the Nuggets would have had 47.
That is a workable disparity and if we do assume that the Lakers made all of their second-chance points in these extra rebounds (again, not a guarantee) then we are adding another 12 points to the Lakers’ total.
It is not that simple, but it does illustrate just how big the rebounding game can be and how Anthony Davis having eight rebounds opposed to two can swing the entire game. With the Lakers’ success on the glass all season, it is doubtful that this happens twice in a row.