How do the little Warriors rebound better than all but one other team?

Just like last year, the Warriors – with an average height of 6-foot-4 – are the shortest team in the NBA.

And just like last year, they prove that size isn’t everything when it comes to rebounding.

After leading the league in rebounds per game last season with 46.7 per game, the Warriors rank second in the category this year with 48.4, trailing only Houston (49.7). They are seventh in offensive rebounding rate and fifth in second chance points.

It’s still early in the season, but the persistence of last year’s anomaly makes it a trend. The Warriors found a workaround for being undersized on the glass.

They just don’t really know what it is.

“Well, I think part of it is that we play fast and so we try to generate a game that rewards speed and agility,” Steve Kerr said Thursday.

“I think we have a fast team in many positions. We have intelligent players. Draymond will always be part of a good rebounding group. Not necessarily as a guy who gets the ball, but boxing out, being in the right place. Being in the right spot defensively leads to a tough shot, it may not end up with as many angles for the offensive boards.

“I don’t have an exact answer, but I think some of those things play a role.”

The analysis of all these factors does not explain the phenomenon either. Golden State certainly has team speed – and they are significantly faster than last year with Chris Paul, Klay Thompson and Dario Saric – but they are not the fastest team in the league. They rank seventh in pace and 20th in possessions per game; there are no more rebound opportunities for the Warriors in any given game based on their style of play.

Green, meanwhile, is averaging his lowest rebounds per game since 2014-15. But Kerr’s point is valid: Only casual fans would use basic counting statistics to try to capture Green’s impact. He’s always in the right spot defensively and is one of the best in the league at boxing, combining his body positioning, strength and hustle.

Green even taught young center Trayce Jackson-Davis a trick or two.

“One piece of advice I kind of stole from Draymond is to box my guy up and try to give it to one of our guys,” Jackson-Davis said. “I’m just bouncing back by the numbers.”

But even in Green’s 2016-17 Defensive Player of the Year season, the Warriors were tied for seventh in rebounds per game. Not among the top two.

At least with this particular season, Kevon Looney is an obvious X-factor.

Looney, losing about 20 pounds this offseason by fasting daily until the afternoon, is more agile. And after being out of Golden State’s rotation for extended periods last year, he’s been more effective than ever.

The 10-year veteran already has five double-digit rebound games; he had 11 in 74 games last season. Looney ranks second in offensive rebounds per game despite averaging 16.1 minutes per game. No one has a higher rebounding percentage (22.2%) and scores as many second chance points per game (2.8) as Zion Williamson.

Against Dallas earlier this week, Looney created a myriad of extra possessions with nine offensive rebounds.

“It kind of changed my approach to how I grab offensive rebounds,” Looney said of losing weight. “Over the last two years, I’ve been able to shake people up. I was a little stronger, able to move the guys. During the preseason, I was trying to figure out what my best approach would be: using my speed or being more physical. I’m trying to find that combination of doing both based on who’s guarding me and what center I’m going up against. And I understood.

Golden State’s rebounding philosophy goes something like this: Gangs rebound to close out possessions and selectively crash from the corners on the other side.

It’s not really innovation that excites people.

But the Warriors succeeded. Looney is a rebounding superstar, and Green being a generational defender helps a lot. Brandin Podziemski is an elite rebounder for his position, as is Gary Payton II. Andrew Wiggins (91st percentile in offensive rebounds at his position) played with energy, as did Jonathan Kuminga.

Playing a rotation of 12 or 13 players kept everyone fresh and energized. If you’re only supposed to play in five-minute increments, it makes sense for players to put in more consistent effort, even during choppy plays and bounces.

The shooting regimes at both ends of the court could also be variable. Long rebounds, which can go as high as 50/50, are more common on teams that shoot a lot from 3-point range. The Warriors take the eighth-most 3s in the league and force the 17th, according to Cleaning The Glass. Neither figure is conclusive evidence.

It’s also possible that Golden State’s rebounding prowess will fade. Ranking 23rd in defensive rebounding percentage is a red flag. Their early numbers could be improved by playing against weak opponents (Utah, Washington, Portland) or injured teams (Chet Holmgren and the Thunder, Steven Adams with Houston, the Celtics without Kristaps Porzingis).