State of the Hornets: Tyson Chandler
Recent USA Basketball invitee Tyson Chandler impressed observers around the league with a fantastic 2006-07. Check out the latest in Hornets.com’s series of individual player recap articles. Armstrong | Brown | Butler
Tyson Chandler authored an NBA rarity on March 23 against the Lakers by posting a 20-20 game, piling up 22 points and 22 rebounds.
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May 25, 2007
Hornets.com continues its look back at 2006-07 with player-by-player analysis of the team:
Tyson Chandler
NBA experience: Six seasons (five with Bulls, one with Hornets).
Age: 24.
Games played (starts): 73 (73).
Key statistical averages: 9.5 points, 12.4 rebounds, 1.77 blocks.
What we expected: Following a self-described disappointing 2005-06 campaign with Chicago, Chandler was dealt by the Bulls to the Hornets in exchange for P.J. Brown and J.R. Smith. The 7-foot-1 center averaged a career-low 5.3 points per game in his final season in the Windy City, so most did not anticipate more than modest offensive production. In a lineup that was also expected to include high-scoring David West, Peja Stojakovic and Chris Paul, the Hornets were more focused on getting the most out of Chandler in two areas of strength for him, defense and rebounding.
What went right: Chandler was the most pleasant individual surprise of the Hornets’ season, emerging as a candidate for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. The Dominguez (Calif.) High product transformed into a double-double machine midway through the season, accomplishing the feat 18 times over one 19-game stretch between late January and early March. He finished the season with 34 double-doubles and 56 games of 10-plus rebounds, en route to taking second place in the NBA rebounding race, with 12.4 boards per game. Only Kevin Garnett (12.8) pulled down more rebounds per game this season. Overall, Chandler established himself as one of the Hornets’ key building blocks for the future and gave the team reason to believe that it has found a long-term solution at center for the first time since Jamaal Magloire manned the pivot.
What went wrong: Prior to appearing to gain confidence in his post-up game, Chandler’s initial hesitancy on offense led to him averaging just 5.9 points in November and December, a portion of the schedule in which the shorthanded Hornets went 12-18. Although he remained relatively healthy in comparison to his teammates, Chandler season came to a premature end April 4 when he sustained a toe injury. The 235-pounder missed the season’s final seven games. Prior to that stretch, he appeared in 73 of the Hornets’ first 75 games, missing the Nov. 15 and Dec. 14 games to injury.
The future: Byron Scott told the media throughout last season that there is still a great deal of untapped potential in Chandler, particularly offensively. If he can increase his scoring production to roughly 11 or 12 points per game in upcoming seasons – combined with the other aspects of the game in which he already excels – the Hornets will have one of the premier centers in the NBA. The goal in 2007-08 should be to become a more consistent offensive threat and prove that the “real” Tyson Chandler is the one who thrived with the Hornets last season, not the one who struggled near the end of his Chicago tenure. Chandler is under contract for the next four years, extending through the 2010-11 season.
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING
Here’s what Hornets.com heard about Chandler in 2006-07:
ESPN The Magazine writer Chris Broussard, during the preseason:
“This is a guy who, if you remember, everybody predicted would be a superstar, and he’s only 23. He’s been in the league for five years, but I truly believe that people who finalize their judgments on guys like Tyson Chandler, Darko Milicic, Eddy Curry and Kwame Brown this early are just flat-out wrong. I’m not saying they’re all going to be stars, but it’s too early to write a guy off and say, ‘Well, he’s just going to be an average player.’
“I think the Hornets are getting him at a great time, because he’s really out to prove something. With his skill set, I think he fits great into this scheme. Chris Paul, by himself, with his penetration is going to get Tyson a couple easy buckets every game. Plus Tyson’s ability to run the floor well should help him get easy baskets that way. I know they want to push the ball here. The Princeton offense should give him a little more freedom. This is a guy who had some offensive skills coming out of high school as far as having a jump shot and handling the ball. He didn’t really get a chance to show that in Chicago, but in the Princeton offense he will. I think it was a good (trade). He’s 23 years old, and he has ‘sky’s-the-limit’ type upside.”
ESPN analyst Greg Anthony:
“A couple things have benefited him. First, this (Hornets) system is more geared to his strengths. Second, he’s playing with a pass-first point guard here. Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon are both great guards, but both of those guys look more to score first. They’ve been able to incorporate (Chandler) more here, especially with the way Chris Paul runs the offense and Byron coaches. The other thing about Tyson is that he has great character. I played with him in Chicago, and he’s the type of person who understands that great effort leads to great results. The move here really benefited him. Plus, he gets to play with a David West, who is a proven scorer and his game complements Tyson.”
America Online writer Marc J. Spears:
“I really think he might be the most improved player in the league, and he’s just been destroying people in the second half of the season. He’s still young. Right now, (the trade with Chicago) is starting to look like a steal for the Hornets. Yao Ming is definitely going to be in the All-Star Game (in the future), but some of the other centers in the conference are getting older. Mehmet Okur is relatively young, but Marcus Camby is getting older, and there aren’t that many great centers in the Western Conference. Chandler will get more recognition with team success. If he continues to play next season the way he is right now, who knows? Maybe (Chandler could be an All-Star) next season. But the team has got to win for it to happen.”
NBA legend Rick Barry:
“I’ve always liked Tyson, but I always wondered why he wasn’t playing at a higher level. I think a lot of it is him growing up and being a little bit more mature. I think the realization all of the sudden hit him… and he said, ‘You know what, I’ve got a lot of talent. I have the ability to be a pretty darn good basketball player, but I’ve got to show up every night. I’ve got to put the effort into my game and be prepared to play.’
“It’s nice to see a young man like that come to that realization and start to maximize the potential that he has. Hopefully this will be the start of many years for him playing at this level and him continuing to improve.”
Chicago TV analyst Stacey King, on how well the former Bull played as a Hornet this season:
“I’m not surprised. I’ve always said that if he really focuses and can stay healthy, he can be a dominant player in this league. Rebounding and blocking shots are things he can do right now, until he can get his offensive game to catch up with his defense. He’s very long and athletic and can run the court. He just had a bad year for the Bulls last season. He struggled, and I think he got down on himself early. He was never really able to get out of that hole. Now he’s in a new place with a fresh start, with new teammates and a new coaching staff. He’s just energized right now. He’s a good kid, and he works hard. But he had a tough time becoming the player they wanted him to be in Chicago.”
