Photo via Getty Images
This is the first edition of a series I started on my own site (samples here and here) and I will now be continuing here at Hardwood Paroxysm, You Better Recognize. Each week, I will take a look at one specific aspect of a specific player’s game and break down why he has been so successful (or unsuccessful) in that given area.
When I set out to write this piece, it originally had a different title: You Better Recognize: Tyson Chandler’s Post Defense. The plan was to break down exactly how the Knicks center has been smothering people defensively, especially on the low block, and I was going to provide all the reasons how and why he does what he does. But after watching the game film, I didn’t think that accurately captured the impact that he’s been having on the defensive end, so I decided to expand it and came up with a new title: You Better Recognize: Tyson Chandler’s Post and Isolation Defense. The plan was still the same; break down exactly how and why Tyson has been so successful guarding on those type of plays. But again, I didn’t feel this was sufficient. So I expanded the scope and the title of the post again: You Better Recognize: Tyson Chandler’s Post, Isolation and Help Defense. Again, I wasn’t satisfied with that. It was at this point that I came to the realization that I couldn’t focus on one specific aspect of Chandler’s defense if I wanted to capture the essence of just how important he’s been to one of the surprisingly best defensive units in the NBA. To fully appreciate Chandler’s impact on the defensive end, we have to look at the whole picture.
You can’t really grasp Chandler’s effect on the Knicks’ defense without understanding where they came from, where they are now, and how they got there. The Knicks, especially under Mike D’Antoni, have been one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA for quite some time. Since the 2002-03 season, the Knicks had ranked 22nd, 18th, 25th, 27th, 26th, 30th, 24th, 27th and 21st in defensive efficiency in the years leading up to this one. It was that fact that led to the Knicks’ decision to use the amnesty provision on Chauncey Billups and go after Chandler. With Tyson in tow, the Knicks sit comfortably in the top 10 in defensive efficiency, currently at 8th according to ESPN’s John Hollinger (HoopData also has them at 8th and Basketball-Reference has them at 6th).
If you’ve been watching or following the Knicks at all this season, you already know about their “switch on every pick unless you are absolutely 100% positive that both you and the other man involved in the action can stick with your man and you better be sure so just switch anyway” style of defense. Chandler is the key to making the whole thing work. When the opposing team gets Chandler and a guard or wing to switch, Chandler is counted on to do a bunch of different things: 1. pick up the guard or wing who has the ball, 2. help out the guard who picked up his man if the ball gets entered into the post, 3. recover in time to challenge a shot if the ball gets kicked back out to the perimeter and 4. keep an eye on everyone else on the court so he can come over for a help-side challenge or block because the Knicks usually play at least 2 or 3 below-average (at best) defenders at a time. That’s a lot to handle for one player, and Chandler is asked to do it all on a pretty routine basis. The Knicks put so much weight on his shoulders because they have confidence that he can handle it, and they’re right, at least so far.
Chandler has had to pick up a guard or wing player in isolation off a switch 30 times (or more accurately, the possession has ended with him defending a guard or wing player in isolation off a switch 30 times) and the results have been spectacular. Those players are 7-for-27 (25.9%) from the field with 1 turnover and have drawn just 2 shooting fouls. The reasons he’s been so successful defending these players on switches are simple: positioning, footwork, reach and intimidation. Quite simply, many of these players are scared that if they try to take Chandler to the basket, they’ll get their shot blocked, so they barely even try. Chandler recognizes this and generally plays off them when he gets caught guarding them on a switch. He gives them just enough room to make them think they can raise up and splash a jumper, but by the time they’ve started their shooting motion and have the ball ready to release, Chandler’s hand is right in their grill. This causes them to fade away so they don’t get blocked, which changes the trajectory of the ball and forces a miss (even most of the made baskets against Chandler in isolation are fade-away jumpers). Watch below as that exact sequence happens with Danilo Gallinari and Rajon Rondo.
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9udSqjTUb9w&feature=youtu.be]
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRnBUkcLmhg&feature=youtu.be]
Chandler is able to bait both Gallo and Rondo into shots that he knows they likely won’t be able to make because of his ability to close out and challenge due to his extremely long reach. He’s often able to do the same thing with forwards and centers, who are themselves 7-for-20 (40%) from the field with 4 turnovers and just 1 shooting foul drawn on Chandler in isolations. Here, DeMarcus Cousins and Byron Mullens fall victim to this.
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B42YBEiCVyk&feature=youtu.be]
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkh6IuOP4zU&feature=youtu.be]
The way to victimize Chandler on isolations is to know that he likes to give you space and then jump right into you and challenge, and thus get him to bite on a pump fake. Because he’s so aggressive in challenging jumpers in these situations, sometimes he can get caught biting. Danilo Gallinari (after he had already missed a fade-away earlier in the same game, the video shown above) and Andrea Bargnani get Chandler this way.
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XBCllhgUNI&feature=youtu.be]
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPR2Ez3Wtx4&feature=youtu.be]
While his job is much easier when he’s defending the post rather than isolations, that doesn’t make the work Chandler is doing down there any less impressive. Opponents score on Chandler out of the post just 38.1% of the time according to mySynergySports. One reason Chandler’s post defense is so effective is because he expertly avoids fouls. He’s been called for a shooting foul on just 7 of the 84 post-up opportunities against him. Conversely, he has forced a turnover on 18 of the 84 post-up possessions he’s been the defender on. That’s nearly a 2.6-to-1 turnover to foul ratio, which is ridiculously excellent.
Playing post defense with your hands, either swiping at the ball or trying too hard to block the shot, is a very easy way to get called for a foul. That’s why the other big thing to notice with Tyson’s post defense is that while many (maybe even most) post defenders play defense with their hands, Tyson defends almost entirely with his feet and his body until the very last second when he’s challenging a shot, and then he goes straight up rather than bringing his hands and arms down on the offensive player. Shuffling your feet to stay in front of your man and using your lower body to create leverage aren’t flashy skills that get you noticed by All-Star voters, but they’re vitally important to playing post defense, and Chandler has them in spades.
Watch him below against Kevin Love, one of the NBA’s best scoring big men. It’s not Chandler’s best effort challenging a shot, but he stays low, moves his feet and his body, and doesn’t let Love get good enough position to drop the hook shot right in.
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwzWsURfpDQ&feature=youtu.be]
This play, against Utah’s Al Jefferson, perfectly exemplifies Chandler’s post defense. He doesn’t let Jefferson get good position directly on the block; Jefferson catches the ball three or four steps outside the lane, which already puts him at a disadvantage. He has to go pretty far to get to the hoop for a post-up opportunity. Chandler doesn’t reach, doesn’t poke. He just shuffles his feet, keeps his leverage, and blocks the shot just as it leaves Jefferson’s hand. You can’t play better post defense than this.
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NV6ZxQLq_E&feature=youtu.be]
One way to beat Chandler on the block is by executing a spin move. Chandler uses his leverage extremely well to force guys one way when they post him up, but if you are able to feign a move in that direction and quickly spin around to the other, you can catch him napping. It’s very rare the big man that is able to do this, but it’s happened a few times this season. Nikola Pekovic and Al Jefferson do it below.
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVrTCzUB0uI&feature=youtu.be]
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fHDkfO3TGE&feature=youtu.be]
In addition to being a master defending in isolation and in the post, Chandler is also one of the best help defenders in the entire league, especially when it comes to blocking shots from the weak side. The thing that jumps out at you about Chandler’s weak side help is his timing. Very rarely does he block a shot that gets floated into the air; almost all of his blocks are of the “swat it right out of the guy’s hand” variety. Because the Knicks have so many poor defenders on their team, Chandler’s ability to come help from any area of the floor is of tantamount importance. His tendency to pin his blocked shots against the glass or block them straight down also helps the Knicks keep possession of the ball and basically force a turnover, rather than just giving the ball back to the other team like many of the more flashy shot-blockers who like to swat the ball into the crowd tend to do.
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ5r_N6Rbdo&feature=youtu.be]
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDMPeWPCv7U&feature=youtu.be]
Despite Chandler’s defensive prowess not being good enough to earn him a spot in the All-Star Game, the impact he’s having on this Knicks team is palpable. He’s been their best player through the first 2 months or so of the season, Linsanity notwithstanding, and it really isn’t close. Even during this amazing run by Jeremy Lin, the Knicks’ victories have been powered by their improved defense, of which Chandler is undeniably the centerpiece. The guy is an absolute monster, so you better recognize.
