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This is part of a sponsored series by SB Nation where they asked all team bloggers to point on our player on their respective team who is the "master" of a certain craft. In this case, I chose Reggie Evans. Please, enjoy!
For all the "slack" we give Reggie Evans for being a non-factor on the offensive side of the ball, It's only fair for us to acknowledge that he's good, nay, great at when he's on the basketball court.
Hey, would you believe me if I told you that Evans leads the NBA in both defensive rebound rate and total rebound rate? Of course you would, because, well, I've never lied to you... Yet.
First, let's quickly define these terms. "Defensive rebound rate" is percentage of defensive rebounds grabbed by a player when he is on the basketball court. And, as I'm sure you can gather, "total rebound rate" is the total number of rebounds a player grabs while on the basketball court. So, for every ball that comes off the glass/rim, while Evans is on the court, he gets "X amount" of them. Simple enough.
Evans, for his efforts, is first in both categories, posting a 33.8 defensive rebound rate (technically behind Kevin Love, but he has only played in 18 games this season) and a 23.8 total rebound rate (ahead of Kevin Love!). He's ahead of guys like Anderson Varejao, Omer Asik, Tyson Chandler, Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, Kenneth Faried... he's ahead of everyone.
Now, this isn't to say that Evans is the "best rebounder in the league." There's more to that particular discussion than just pointing out one's rebound rate -- you have to factor in teammates, in that he's not necessarily playing alongside skillful or crafty rebounders.
Still, Evans does get a nod for his excellent and highly motorized, slash, skilled ability to get to the basketball once it comes off the rim.
He's not just a good rebounder, he's a great rebounder. Among the best in the NBA, which is high praise. We can question the rotations, where he fits (coming off the bench?) and who he's best suited playing alongside, but I don't think anyone can question his ability to rebound the basketball.
Now, if only he can get a nice little low-post move going... Or at least connect on 70-plus percent of his free throws!