Player of the Week: Tyson Chandler

The Mavs got more than just a rim protector when they acquired Tyson Chandler this summer.

Yes, he’s one of the best in the league at defending close shots. Yes, he covers up holes on the perimeter with ease. Yes, he has practically mastered the art of verticality.

Yes, he’s even the team’s emotional leader, bringing a contagious and fiery passion that has rekindled the intensity in laid-back Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis.

But for this week, at least, Chandler has literally brought more to the Mavericks. Shots, that is.

The Mavs’ prodigal son at center is averaging 2.0 offensive rebounds this season, second on the team only to Brandan Wright (who also deserves plenty of praise for his play this week). Chandler has battled against some of the best rebounders in the NBA to do it, too — during this week’s three games, his adversaries included Tim Duncan, Derrick Favors, Anthony Davis, and Omer Asik.

It’s the situations in which Chandler gives Dallas a second chance that matters most. Per NBA Stats — every single one of you should check out the league’s newly designed stats page right away! — 1.7 of Chandler’s offensive rebounds have followed shots from at least 13 feet, and all of them have come with at least one opponent in the immediate vicinity, what the NBA refers to as a “contested” rebound.

This is important because it shows that not only is the Dallas center winning box-out battles against big-time glass-eaters, but he’s also preventing possible easy points the other way. Generally, long shots produce long rebounds, and long rebounds lead to transition opportunities at the other end.

For example, if Monta Ellis and Nowitzki run a pick-and-roll with Chandler Parsons in one corner and Jameer Nelson in the other, and Ellis misses an 18-foot jumper, Dallas isn’t in position to defend in transition. Should the defense come away with the rebound, Ellis and Nowitzki would be the only men back left to defend against two or three attackers. That’s a mismatch in the opponent’s favor.

The Mavericks have combated this in the past by immediately sending as many as three men back on defense as soon as a shot goes up. That works for defending a fast break, but it greatly reduces the odds of coming away with a second chance. Dallas did this many times against San Antonio, and Chandler took advantage, back-tapping three boards to midcourt, where a Mavs player was always waiting.

If Chandler can continue acting as a one-man offensive rebounding crew while also protecting the rim at a high level, he’s not only going to shore up the middle; he’s going to be an All-Star-caliber player on a very, very good team.

STAT OF THE WEEK – 120.4

The Mavs’ offensive rating of 120.4 leads the league by a mile. The next-closest team, Miami, put up an impressive 116.0 points per 100 possessions this week, but it doesn’t even come close to the mind-boggling number Dallas achieved. A team 4.4 points beneath the Heat would be 7th in the NBA in offensive rating. That’s how wide the gulf is after one week. The 120.4 mark is also 15.5 points above league average.

For reference, the highest-rated offense ever was that of the 1986-87 Lakers, who finished with a 115.6 mark. However, their strength of schedule (-0.98) was nowhere near what Dallas’s will be this season. The Mavs will surely regress from 120.4, but how far? Last season’s team finished with a 111.2 offensive rating, and this year’s club is much better on the offensive end.

It’s entirely possible the team could finish at 113 — or higher, even — barring significant injury. Were that to happen, the Mavs would be just the 37th team all-time to reach that plateau, and the first since the 2009-10 Phoenix Suns. If they continue going crazy and reach 114 points/100, they’d be just the 17th team to do so, and we’d need to have the conversation about where this team places in the all-time discussion of great offenses. But that’s a very, very, very, very long way away. There’s a lot of basketball yet to be played.

Dallas has accomplished this all while playing at the league’s fifth-slowest pace (91.1 possessions per game) against the league’s fourth-toughest schedule: at San Antonio, vs. Utah, and at New Orleans. The Pelicans’ defense was not highly regarded last season, but this year with Anthony Davis and Omer Asik manning the middle, that’s changed.

The Mavs also led the league with a 52.0 field goal percentage, including shooting 58.9 percent on two-point shots. Most of those have been dunks, sure, but Dallas has also shot a ridiculous 65.6 percent on field goals between 10-16 feet away from the rim and 51.2 percent on shots from between 16 feet and the three-point line.