| New Team, New Attitude, A Real Force Authored by Cory Stuart - March 28, 2007 - 2:27 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
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Along with Eddy Curry and Kwame Brown, he became a poster child for forcing high school basketball players to the college level before they begin their NBA careers.
Chandler’s development has been sluggish, and on the whole it has been a struggle for the big man throughout his NBA journey. However, with a new team and a new attitude, Chandler has emerged as a legitimate force in the league this season.
It seems that the key to Chandler’s success this year has been his comfort level. With a coaching staff and an organization that believes in his abilities firmly behind him, Chandler has excelled in the Byron Scott system. Too often with the Bulls, Chandler would appear hesitant on the court. He never looked secure enough in his own skin to become the player his talents begged him to be. He appeared to be about as comfortable with the Bulls as Eddy Curry is comfortable with a salad. That’s changed this year under Scott. Chandler’s athletic ability and uncanny quickness have finally been allowed to run wild on the court, and the numbers that he has produced are both impressive and historic.
With 10 games remaining on the Hornets schedule, Chandler has connected on a striking 62.7% of his attempts from the floor. He’s also racked up 12.4 rebounds per contest, second in the league to Kevin Garnett (12.8). Chandler also leads the league in rebounds per 40 minutes (17.1) for a player who logs more than 20 minutes a game. He’s also managed a career high 9.4 points per contest this year. Given the Hornets’ balanced scoring attack (they’ve got seven players who average more than ten points per game), each point Chandler records comes as a bonus for Byron Scott. He’s also easily the league’s best offensive rebounder this season at 4.4, leading to countless put-back dunks and second chance opportunities for the Hornets. Even his free throw shooting has improved by nearly ten percent over his career mark. His defense is underrated, he runs the court like a guard, and he has the ability to finish around the rim just as explosively as any player in the league.
So he’s playing for a contract, right?
Droves of NBA big man seem to put up career years in the season just before a lucrative contract would be on the way (see Erick Dampier, Adonal Foyle, ect.). However Chandler’s pact, signed back in 2005 when he was still with the Bulls, is good all the way through 2011. And at around 11 million a year, Chandler could become one of the best big man values in the entire league. Certainly his emergence cannot be pegged as a cash grab.
At times this year, Chandler has looked like nothing less than a juggernaut on the court. His quickness for a man his size and his unique skill set often take over games for the Hornets. Without question, his overall improvement on both ends of the floor has kept New Orleans in the playoff conversation down the stretch. If Peja Stojakovic and Bobby Jackson weren’t as injury prone as Lindsay Lohan at 3am, the Hornets would be a lock for a top six spot in the Western Conference. But with those key off-season acquisitions on the shelf for most of the season, Chandler has stepped up and elevated his game and the Hornets as a team. True, Chris Paul is the captain of the ship, but Tyson Chandler’s all-around play this season has kept the boat afloat. |
