Phoenix Suns: Early Returns on Tyson Chandler

The Phoenix Suns ended the 2014-15 season knowing they needed another big man (preferably strong at defensive rebounding), some more outside shooting and a defensive-minded veteran to add toughness. They signed Tyson Chandler with the intent of filling two of those holes, and early returns on that move have been a mixed bag.

At 2-2, the Suns are about where we expected them to be — in the middle of the pack — after losing at home to the Dallas Mavericks, sweeping a home-and-home with the Portland Trail Blazers and finally losing on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers.

THE EYE TEST

Chandler has quickly gained favor amongst the team and the fans with his aggressive, emotional style on and off the court. Little things like pumping up the home crowd after a defensive stand or cheering on fellow center Alex Len from the bench are two ways that Chandler’s infectious energy positively affects the team.

Through four games, he’s averaging 9.3 points, 11.8 rebounds (4.0 offensive) and 1.0 blocks per game, while shooting 54.2 percent. He’s playing 27.8 minutes per game, which is a comfortable amount for a 33-year-old with 26,567 regular season minutes on his legs.

He’s been nothing but professional in the lockerroom and gracious with the media, happily offering lengthy interviews and patiently answering everyone’s questions fully and thoughtfully.

Judging solely on that, you’d have to give the move a resounding thumbs up. We’d be remiss if we didn’t dig a little deeper, because there’s some warts on the “all is great” narrative.

METRICS DISAGREE

In terms of plus/minus, Chandler is the worst rated Suns player, at minus-8.6. When Tyson is on the court, opponents shoot 47.2 percent from the field, 39.3 percent from three and they score 108.6 points per game. When Tyson goes to the bench, the Suns hold opponents to 37.8 percent shooting, 26.8 percent from three and they score just 84.4 points per game.

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At least his offense makes up for it, right? Nope. His net rating is a team-worst minus-10.9 and his offensive rating of 96.2 places him better than Mirza Teletovic and Ronnie Price, good for seventh on the team. The Suns score 100.0 points and shoot 39.3 percent when he’s on the court and score 100.4 and shoot 41.7 percent when he sits.

Part of the struggles could be attributed to continuity. Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight are still learning how to play together. P.J. Tucker‘s offense has been non-existent and Markieff Morris is shooting 32.3 percent. Every player on the court has seemingly turned the ball over trying to force an alley-oop to Chandler at some point. The good news is that the alley-oop game was on point in the Suns last contest:

HALF-FULL OR HALF-EMPTY

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The optimist would say that with time, the numbers will even out a bit. We can’t ignore the fact that Chandler has twice as many offensive rebounds (16) as anyone on the team and has kept a number of possessions alive by tipping the ball back to his squad. We can’t overlook the fact he’s pulled down 41 rebounds in the last three games, either.

The pessimist will point towards a team that routinely stands around offensively, bereft of starpower, that depends heavily on individual contributions and streaky play. While Chandler’s length allows him to challenge shots, his success rate is mediocre at best — he and Bledsoe are tied for the team lead with four blocks.

While Chandler has provided the team with the intangibles they lacked last season and is doing an excellent job of controlling the glass, he hasn’t been the kind of impact player that can take this team to the next level. In a perfect world, his teachings and his attitude would rub off onto the younger guys with greater potential, so that they could elevate their games.

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