<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">You're waiting for Tyson Chandler to gloat, to refer to his critics and detractors and relish the opportunity to tell them where they can stick the harsh words that draped their assessments of his NBA career. But he won't, as much as he has earned the right, as much as no one would begrudge him the counterpunch. Because, goodness knows, he's been punched hard and often enough that it would've been understandable if he'd chosen to stay down, rather than get up and risk more punishment. But he won't -- which, actually, is a good thing for a certain columnist. That doesn't make his rise as a Hornet, for which the word "meteoric" hardly does justice, any less impressive to us or satisfying to him. A little more than 13 months ago, Chandler was a throwaway for the Chicago Bulls, who happily traded him to the Hornets in exchange for veteran forward P.J. Brown and guard J.R. Smith. In five non-remarkable seasons with the Bulls, Chandler, the No. 2 overall pick in 2001, didn't average more than 9.2 points, 9.7 rebounds or 1.76 blocks per game. Today, he's one of the 12 members of Team USA, playing with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James in the FIBA Americas Tournament in Las Vegas. The tournament is one of five Olympic qualifying zone tournaments and will determine the two men's teams from the Americas zone that will qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. "I try not to look at it like vindication," Chandler said. "I'm just blessed. But I'm very proud of my accomplishments." He should be. Sure, Chandler, a 7-foot-1 center, still is a work-in-progress. But in one season with the Hornets, he had career highs in points (9.5), rebounds (12.5), blocks (1.8), double-doubles (34) and field-goal percentage (.624). No Hornets player was more improved from 2005-06 to 2006-07, and none was better during the second half of last season. So Chandler knows there would have been no invitation, and no opportunity to practice against premier big men Amare Stoudemire and Dwight Howard, if he hadn't become a Hornet. </div> Source: NOLA
I'm still not too high on Chandler. I feel like he's at his ceiling. It's an okay ceiling, but I wouldn't sell the farm for it. Having Chris Paul could jack up his numbers, though. Speaking of Chris Paul, has anybody else seen the screen for this NBA 2k8 game? It looks pretty out of this world. I was hoping Baron Davis would get the cover, since the Visual Concepts HQ is about 5 minutes from my house... I tested one of their NFL games before it came out, and they're all Warriors fans. Huh, I sure got off topic. Anyhow, yeah, I'd predict les rebounds but more scoring for Chandler next year.
