Rebounding Missing Key In Mavs' Game 1 Loss

Following a night when points and possessions were at a premium, Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle stressed the importance of offensive rebounding, and the detriment the team might have suffered by losing out decidedly to the Heat in this department, in his postgame press conference.

"Our rebounding has to be better," Carlisle said after the Mavericks’ 96-84 Game 1 loss, per ESPN Dallas. "We're minus-10 on offensive boards. That's 10 more opportunities that they have the ball and we don't."

Both teams shot under 40 percent on Tuesday, but, as a result of the rebounding question, the Heat were afforded 13 more shots--80 to 67.

"You hold a team to 38 percent and 92 points, for us that's usually a victory," Shawn Marion said. "To score 84 points is very rare for us. To get 67 shots as well, even to shoot 37 percent."

For Carlisle, the Game 1 performance was disappointing. But the remedy for such a performance, while easier said than done, isn’t all that complicated.

"The biggest thing is we've got to straighten out the rebounding and we have to do a better job of putting the ball in the basket," Carlisle said.