When I was watching the Magic-Spurs game, I realized that I had literally forgotten what it looked/felt like to be a strong rebounding team that rebounds the basketball in a traditional way. As I think about it, Gentry may have coined the term "gang rebounding" as it relates to the Suns, but being as long as I've been a Suns fan (about 15 years), it's always been such a struggle. That doesn't mean the Suns haven't ever been a decent rebounding team, but it's always been in an unconventional way. Shawn Marion used to be among the league leaders in boards per game, statistically, and Amar'e was always okay on the glass (9 boards per game for a power forward isn't as terrible as some would have you believe), but man... what a difference having a big, imposing rebounder has on a team's ability to defend. With the Suns, every miss is basically a 50-50 ball coming off the rim. When they are energetic and active, they have shown the ability to rebound well over the years, but what a luxury it is to not have that empty, uncertain feeling in your stomach everytime the other team shoots the ball as you hope the Suns get a friendly bounce!
On another note, I'm intrigued by Steve Kerr being the color comentator for tonight's game. It'll be nice to hear a national commentator with a nuanced view of the Suns' play. Typically, it's just "the Suns love to run and gun, but I don't know if they can outscore their opponent tonight.."