In the Lane with Licht: Chandler’s Improved Offensive Game

January 12, 2007

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It’s an old story in sports. A player gets labeled, tries to shed it, and fails simply because the details of his talents are so embedded into the minds of players, fans, and management that it’s impossible to convince people he has changed.

Perhaps Tyson Chandler is in the process of slowly tearing away the label he has carried since entering the NBA out of Dominguez High School in 2001.

Chandler’s recent offensive surge is giving the Hornets hope that he has become another offensive option for the club. Granted, we’re talking baby steps here, but there is no denying the fact that Chandler understands his role has changed with the devastating injuries that have knocked out almost 75% of Byron Scott’s offense.

Since the New Year began the 7-1 center has shown us three things we did not see in 2006: (1) The desire to get the ball in the post and score, (2) Specific and defined post moves that have resulted in more consistent scoring, and (3) Practice and patience on free throw shooting that have produced a dramatic improvement at the line.

Okay, so we’re only five games into 2007 and that may not be long enough for the Petrie dish to show conclusive evidence that his offense is reliable on a day-to-day basis. But, the numbers are not just encouraging; they’re starting to become exciting. For Chandler to have become a double double threat each game proves that Hornets general manager Jeff Bower was right in claiming that the team’s new center had tremendous upside. We knew he could rebound (7.6 career avg. per game). We knew he could block shots (1.4 career avg. per game). What we didn’t know for sure was how much help he could provide at the offensive end of the floor (7.0 ppg career avg.).

And that’s why Chandler has carried the “All Defense-No Offense” label through his first 5+ NBA seasons.

A look at his numbers, five games into 2007 indicates that it might be time to begin at least altering the label to read: “Lots of Defense – Some Offense”.

	2006	2007
PPG	5.9	8.8
FT%	.364	.588
FG%	.631	.586
RPG	11.1	12.6
BPG	1.5	1.6
GMS	28	5

Tyson Chandler #6 of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets takes a shot over Shelden Williams #33 of the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena on January 10, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Looking at his game-by-game start in 2007 makes his offensive improvement even more evident. After hitting double figures just five times in his first 28 games Chandler has scored ten or more points in three straight games, recording double doubles in two of those games. He’s gone 10 for 17 at the line in the last four games (an average of 4.2 free throw attempts per game). That’s a startling contrast to November and December when the 24-year-old center failed to score at the line in 19 of his 28 games!

Chandler is not the only Hornet to step up his offensive game with Paul, Peja, West, and Jackson out with injuries (Desmond Mason, Rasual Butler, and Jannero Pargo have all contributed significantly in the scoring department), but his altered attitude about offense is the most noticeable. He’s gone from being the fifth option in the offense to being a legitimate low post contributor.

The key question with the Hornets new big man is whether the early 2007 trends are an aberration or a breakthrough. Chandler has 47 more games to prove he has elevated his offensive game. If he does he just may become one of those players who successfully proves that old labels can be changed.

Learn more about Tyson Chandler’s new offensive attitude on our LichtCAST.