The reason why Chandler is quietly having big games is that he generally does not take a lot of shots. So he is very efficient when he scores big. Thus, he scores within the flow of the team and is not dominating the ball. He is becoming a great team player.
I believe that would be a direct hit by our esteemed colleague DA.
I think Chandler's excellent play of late can be traced to his growing awareness of individual and team situations. He is putting the ball on the floor more than just settling for jump shots. He is getting to the foul line. His defense was always top notch but now he is getting more boards and assists too.
Look at the progressions.
In his last 20 games Chandler is averaging 17.2 pp., 5.7 rpg and 2.4 apg. His season averages are 14.8, 5.5 and 2.1. Now look at the last 10 games which shows Wilson scoring higher at 19.5, rebounding better at 6.2 and passing more at 2.7. The last 5 games shows Wilson averaging 22.4 pp., 8.8 rpg and 3.2 apg.
Meanwhile the FG and FT% are inching up to 46% and 86% for the season.
In his last 5 games Wilson has taken 85 shots. He has hit 46 of them for a 54% average. He is shooting so much better because he is shooting so much smarter. He is passing and rebounding better because his court awareness is better. His turnovers are better too. In the last 5 games he has averaged 1 per game. Couple the assists to turnovers and you see the change to shooting guard hasn't hurt Chandler at all.
Meanwhile he isn't even 23 years old yet. ; )
Now for Gallinari.
The leading rookie players in the league are:
Tyreke Evans of Sacramento. He is averaging 20.3 pp., 5.3 rpg, 5.0 apg and he's shooting 45% from the field and 78% from the free throw line. The only real hole in his game is he is hitting just 24% of his trey attempts.
Tyreke averages 37 minutes per game.
Brandon Jennings of the Bucks is averaging 19 pp., 3.8 rpg and 5.9 apg while shooting 40% from the field, 80% from the free throw line and 40% from beyond the arc.
Brandon averages 34.6 minutes per game.
Omri Casspi of the Kings is averaging 13.2 pp., 4.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, shooting almost 50% from the field, 47% from beyond the arc and just 63% from the free throw line.
Omri averages 27.7 minutes per game.
Jonny Flyn of the Timberwolves is averaging 14.4 pp., 2.2 rpg, 4 apg and shooting 43% from the field, 81% from the free throw line and 36% from 3 point territory.
Jonny averages 29.2 minutes per game.
Stephen Curry of the Warriors is averaging 12.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 4.5 apg while shooting 45% from the field, 43% from beyond the arc and 84% from the line.
Stephen averages 32.1 minutes per game.
Now compare this with danilo Gallinari who is essentially in his rookie year too.
Gallo is averaging 14.6 pp., 4.9 rpg, 1.6 apg while shooting 43% from the field, 41% from beyond the arc (where he leads the league in attempts) and 82% from the free throw line in 31 minutes per game.
I still think Evans is the best of the rookie crop by a wide margin but next, IMHO if he were eligible, would be Gallinari. He averages less points than Jennings but shoots a lot better. His numbers are comparable to Casspi but Gallo has more than doubled his trey attempts.
I think where the rubber meets the road is defense. Gallo has absolutely stunned me with his defensive instincts. Stunned. His toughness too. Put some more muscle on our Gallo and he goes from Rooster to Raptor.
Last but certainly not least is Lee.
Offensively he is nightt and day from a few years ago. He is hitting jump shots and increasing his range doing so almost by the game. He is averaging 19 ppg and shooting almost 58% to get there while also grabbing 11 boards per game. Besides his midrange shooting the other areas where David has dramatically improved are passing and both man and help defense.
I can not say this emphatically enough but we have to re-sign David Lee. He's the perfect guy on a team that will feature LeBron James (hopefully ; ). He doesn't pout when he doesn't get the ball, he is a consummate team player who produces results, he hustles every minute he is on the court, he is smart, efficient and a fan favorite to boot. Together with the other emerging talents on this team, Gallo and Wilson, they form a mighty nice supporting cast for James. The beauty is you can easily play LeBron at PF with Gallo at SF, Lee at Center and Chandler at SG. There is a an awful lot of good offense and defense with this group.
Now here is a thought. We have Lee, Gall and Chandler. In other words we have 3 great candidates to be LBJ's Pippen. ; ) Why go for Bosh or Joe Johnson when we can re-sign Chris Duhon and sign Raymond Felton for MLE type money? Both fit the system well. Felton is an excellent defender and 3 point shooter and the only hole in his game is a low assist to turnover percentage of 5.3 to 2.4 or a little better than 2 to 1. Good point guards are 3 to 1 and great point guards 4 to 1 or higher. I'm also thinking that if we want to make a real move to get a NBA Title than a veteran like Marcus Camby would be invaluable to this team as a backup center/PF along with Jon Bender and the young Jordan Hill.
I am starting to get excited again watching this team play. Is this another cruel joke or the real thing? The way Chandler, Gallo and Lee have been playing I think it's the real deal.
