Chandler could be Knicks' version of Cano
Last Updated: 10:13 AM, October 29, 2010
Posted: 12:36 AM, October 29, 2010
You see the flashes of potential, those moments where his talent is clearly obvious. It's just not marginal talent either. It's the kind of talent that can dominate a game when he chooses to exert his will.
Yet, there are those other moments when all that skill seems non-existent, buried in lethargy or a lack of passion.
The Yankees had a player like that. His name is Robinson Cano. But I'm talking about Wilson Chandler, the Knicks' swingman who needs to have a breakout season if his team is going to make the playoffs.
Cano might well be the American League MVP after finally fulfilling all the potential the Yankees saw in him when they made him their second baseman in 2005. The journey was sometimes frustrating, as Cano would have people scratching their heads when he didn't always run hard on the bases or didn't get to a ball that he should have.
Cano wasn't always focused, or so it seemed. And he didn't dominate games, but settled for being a role player, insisting he was giving his all even when it didn't look like it.
But the last two seasons, Cano has evolved into one of baseball's best players, hitting for average and power while consistently playing a brilliant second base. He has become all the Yankees thought he would be, if not more.
Thus far, Chandler has been the player Cano used to be. There are times when he can take over a game like he did in the season opener Wednesday night at Toronto, where he came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points. He also had eight rebounds and played a part defensively in limiting Toronto's Andrea Bargnani to just four second-half points after scoring 18 before the break.
Chandler, who logged 29 minutes, carried the Knicks early in the fourth quarter when he scored 8 of his team's 10 points during one stretch -- and he helped seal the victory by hassling Leandro Barbosa into missing a potential game-tying 3-pointer from the corner with three seconds left.
"He's been that player for a while," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said of Chandler after the win. "He's very good."
Yet, there are too many times you get the feeling Chandler doesn't know how good he can be. In his third full season from DePaul, Chandler started 64 of 65 games last season, but opens this season as the team's sixth man while rookie Landry Fields starts at shooting guard alongside Danilo Gallinari at small forward.
D'Antoni insists it is not a demotion, but to fill a need for energy and points off the bench. Chandler says he's cool with it.
"It could change or stay the same," he said. "Whatever, I'm there."
It may help his game knowing the Knicks need him to make an instant impact any time he enters a game. His role is clear. His focus needs to be sharp.
Injuries have played a part in keeping Chandler from blossoming, but he says he is as healthy as he has been in his career.
"Hopefully, it can stay that way," he said.
The presence of Amar'e Stoudemire also should bring out the best in Chandler. This is the first time he has played with one of the league's best leaders, a proven All-Star who can show Chandler how to prepare himself mentally and physically for the grind of an 82-game season.
Chandler, who has averaged 13.4 points and 5.1 rebounds in his career, may not have as much upside in basketball as Cano has in baseball. But he certainly has the potential to consistently deliver the kind of game he did against the Raptors.
