Doc Rivers on board with Celtics off the boards

It should come as no surprise then that the Celtics are on pace to top last year’s team as the worst in offensive rebounds since the NBA began keeping the statistic in the 1973-74 season.

This season, the Celtics have averaged 6.5 offensive rebounds and 35.8 total rebounds, and are getting outrebounded by six per game, all at the bottom of the NBA.

To put the Celtics’ meager offensive rebound average in perspective, Dennis Rodman averaged 6.4 offensive rebounds by himself for Detroit in 1991-92.

According to basketballreference.com, the Celtics this season have grabbed only 16.9 percent of available offensive rebounds, the lowest percentage in the nearly 40 years the stat has been compiled.

Last year’s Celtics ranked second worst, grabbing only 19.7 percent, and the 2010-11 Celtics ranked fourth worst with 21.1 percent.

Over the last 25 years, the Spurs are the only team not to have any offensive rebounds in a game.

I can tell you, you don’t offensive rebound, you stop transition, you win more games than when you get offensive rebounds.

Last year and the year before, the Celtics overcame their rebounding woes by playing tough defense.

Garnett leads the team with 7.2 rebounds a game, which would be the lowest average to lead the Celtics since Paul Pierce’s 6.7 topped the Green in 2005-06.

Entering last night, his 25.7-point average ranked second in the league to Kobe Bryant’s 27.5, but he was averaging career highs in rebounds (9.5), assists (4.5), steals (1.8), blocks (1.2), field goal percentage (49.3) and 3-point percentage (44.4).