Brooklyn Nets: 3 things to watch in another crucial game at Miami

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1. Rebounding concerns should be high

The Brooklyn Nets have been annihilated on the glass in their last two games, a trend that does not bode well against a Miami Heat club that is one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA.

The Heat are in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage, as well as second-chance points.

Miami ranks fourth in the NBA with an offensive rebounding percentage of 29.7, fifth in second-chance scoring at 14.4 points per game and 10th in defensive rebounding percentage at 73.4.

At the center of that is Hassan Whiteside, who is fifth in the NBA in offensive rebounding percentage at 13.4 percent and second at 30.8 percent on the defensive glass.

Brooklyn, meanwhile, is 10th in offensive rebounding percentage at 28.4 percent, but just 23rd in defensive rebounding percentage (71.9) and 26th in the NBA, allowing 14.4 second-chance points per game.

Miami is also one of the better defensive units around, ranking third in the league, surrendering 42.8 points per game in the paint, while possessing the sixth-ranked overall defense (106.8 points per game allowed) and the ninth-best defensive efficiency rating (allowing 107.8 points per 100 possessions).

The Nets have fared well for the season in second-chance scoring, currently eighth in the NBA at 13.7 points per game.

Whiteside has played in 53 of Miami’s 61 games and is averaging 12.9 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 25.4 minutes per game. He’s shooting 55.5 percent from the floor and is fourth in the NBA, scoring 82.5 percent of his points in the paint.

At 7-feet and 265 pounds, he is a load for which the Nets don’t have an ideal answer. Starting center Jarrett Allen is 6-foot-11, but surrenders nearly 30 pounds to Whiteside at 237. Ed Davis at 6-foot-10 and 225 pounds has experience and grit, but may not have the physical mass to fight off Whiteside.

The Nets could catch a break, as Whiteside is listed as questionable for Saturday after missing the last two games for Miami with a strained left hip.

Given how poorly Brooklyn has rebounded in its last two games, this is an area that could go sideways very quickly … and very badly.