PORTLAND, Ore. — Babies born the last time Tyson Chandler played Denver are now walking. That was Jan. 28, 2008, and nearly 15 months and four meetings later, the New Orleans center has yet to battle Denver’s low post — until Sunday, when Chandler will do so in the biggest game of the season.
That’s Game 1 of the Nuggets-Hornets playoff series at the Pepsi Center, where the center of attention will be the centers, not because of their past history, but because of their mystery.
Chandler missed three games against Denver because of injury and a fourth due to suspension, but he returned Wednesday after sitting out 15 games with a debilitating left-ankle injury. So “how injured he is and how conditioned he is will be determined in the future,” coach George Karl of the No. 2-seeded Nuggets said Thursday at the team’s hotel. Translation: Who knows which Chandler will show up Sunday?
As for Denver’s Nene, he’s actually been healthy this season, but he hasn’t played the No. 7 Hornets, coincidentally, since this past Jan. 28, because Nene was suspended for the March 25 game.
What the Nuggets know about Chandler is when he’s at his best, he’s a pest. He is an athletic, abundant big man, who, similarly to power forward David West, works well in a two-man game with point guard Chris Paul. Their alley- oops have been making “SportsCenter” for years. And Chandler goes on rebounding binges. In his first two years with the Hornets, he averaged 12.4 rebounds and 11.7. This year, he has dropped off to 8.7, which actually is still more than Nene (7.8) but definitely a down year for Chandler.
He’s been down, as well. Toe and ankle injuries have taken some of the spirit out of Chandler, who was famously rejuvenated when traded from the Bulls to the Hornets. Then at the trade deadline, the Hornets shipped him to Oklahoma City for a pair of posts, only to find a “Return To Sender” stamp on the 7-footer after the Thunder felt his toe wasn’t physically sturdy enough to follow through on the trade. And even this week, Shaquille O’Neal told the New York Daily News he believes he’ll be traded to the Hornets for Chandler this summer; though the numbers don’t make it seem feasible, it’s another example of Chandler’s potential unsteadiness.
As for Chandler against the Nuggets (54-28), the Hornets (49-33) are understandably optimistic that the rest did him well. He played just 20 minutes Wednesday and told the Times-Picayune after the game that “I’m still struggling with lateral movement, kind of getting out of the blocks, you would say, after getting a rebound, taking off to run. All of that is difficult for me because I’m so used to using my left leg to start those things. And now I’ve got to do the opposite. It’s like retraining. It’s hard to concentrate on that when it’s on-the-fly playing.”
Meanwhile, Nene is feeling good and is a feel-good story on a team of such stories. He overcame knee injuries and testicular cancer to average 14.6 points this season and finish second in the NBA with a 60.4 shooting percentage.
“Nene has done a great job at bringing what I call ‘efficient offense,’ ” Karl said. “Offensively, he gives us very effective touches. Sometimes, we don’t give him enough touches. He delivers as good an efficiency as anyone on our team. J.R. (Smith) and Carmelo (Anthony) might have more explosiveness and the ability to score 12 points in five minutes, but sometimes efficiency is better than explosiveness. How we balance that out is important.”
Nene will start out on Chandler, Karl said, and versatile power forward Kenyon Martin will guard his all-star counterpart David West, though it’s possible Nene will spend time on West, and late in the game, Martin might even spend some time rattling Paul.
And while the Nuggets have struggled rebounding this season (15th in the NBA), New Orleans is a welcoming matchup because, as TNT analyst Doug Collins said by phone, “One of the Hornets’ weaknesses is they’re not very big. They’re very small on that front line. (Small forward) Peja Stojakovic is more of a perimeter guy. They’ll go to a lineup where (reserve guard/forward) James Posey is at the four position.”
When it comes to low-post reserves, well, the Hornets don’t really have any, except for Hilton Armstrong (at 4.8 points a game, let’s call him La Quinta Inn Armstrong). Denver, meanwhile, has Chris “The Birdman” Andersen, the Hornets’ reserve from a year ago who, in his own words, “is going to jump everywhere I can to help any of my teammates.” He’s second in the NBA in blocks (2.5).
But without film evidence of Chandler against Denver, Karl said “there’s personality that’s unknown. With both teams healthy, it’s an equal series.”
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
