Entering their first-round playoff series against the Nuggets, the New Orleans Hornets admitted Tyson Chandler wouldn’t be Tyson Chandler.
The accomplished rebounder was rebounding from an ankle injury and said he would play at “70, 75 percent.”
But after Game 4, when he played “on guts,” according to Byron Scott, the Hornets coach decided to sit Chandler “for his health.”
It was a big break for the Nuggets, who faced the likes of Hilton Armstrong in the low post, a third-year center with limited playoff experience, in Game 5.
“Obviously, it hurts us,” Scott said of Chandler not playing Wednesday, “but each game he just got a little worse and we knew before the series started that the ankle wasn’t 100 percent and each game it would get worse. Talking to him (Wednesday), it was a decision to shut him down, just for his health.”
Chandler scored seven points and grabbed 11 rebounds against the Nuggets in Game 2. But in Game 3 he was irrelevant, finishing with two points and three rebounds. He fouled out in 18 minutes. He was even worse in Game 4, going scoreless and finishing with two rebounds and four fouls in 13 minutes.
Chandler had a promising 2007-08 season with the Hornets, averaging 11.8 points and 11.7 rebounds as a key contributor on a team that finished second in the Western Conference.
But this season, Chandler played through toe and ankle pain. And his averages went down, to 8.8 points and 8.3 rebounds.
Now his season could be over.
