By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
GREENBURGH, N.Y. – By all accounts, Tyson Chandler was outplayed by Roy Hibbert in the Knicks’ six-game loss in the Eastern Conference Semifinals as part of a forgettable postseason for the 7-foot-1 center. Despite that sentiment, Chandler does not feel he let his team down.
“You can’t let the team down if you give them 100 percent, I gave my teammates everything I had and I’m fine with that,” Chandler said on Monday morning as the team conducted exit interviews following Saturday night’s Game 6, season-ending loss at the Indiana Pacers. “I haven’t slept the last two days or the last two nights thinking about what could’ve been, this and that, but you can’t do that. You’ve gotta move on and at the end of the day, it was a a successful season. I think the organization took a step in the right direction.”
A 54-win season and an Atlantic Division title were reduced late Saturday night to a search for answers, especially from Chandler, who looked stiff, slow and out of sorts in getting dominated by Hibbert. Chandler did acknowledge what may have caused those problems to happen at what was most certainly the wrong time.
He missed the final 16 games of the regular season with a neck injury, only getting cleared to begin running on April 17, the day of the regular season finale. Chandler was cleared for Game 1 against the Boston Celtics, but had no game-time to attempt to get himself together off the injury. Additionally, he lost 10 pounds while rehabbing his neck do to flu-like symptoms. That, he said, caused him to lose some of his strength.
“I wasn’t feeling it (the neck injury) after the Boston series,” Chandler said. “Not having that time and missing those games before the playoffs, the timing of things with my teammates, the rhythm you get in with them on the court, feeding me in certain positions, defensive rotations, all of that, I think that just kind of threw me off.”
Chandler averaged 8.7 rebounds in six games against the Celtics, going for at least 11 in Games 4, 5 and 6, but things went downhill against Hibbert. he averaged just 6.0 points and 6.2 rebounds in six games, while looking slow in the interior, specifically in getting over to challenge shots from point-blank range. Meanwhile, Hibbert broke out of a season-long slumber, averaging 13.3 points and 10.3 rebounds in the six games. The highlight was a 24-point, 12-rebound effort in a Game 3 win at Bankers Life Fieldhouse that gave the Pacers a 2-1 series lead and the momentum for good.
“I wasn’t where I wanted to be,” Chandler said. “I wish I could have got a couple games in before the playoffs started, I felt like I really never got my rhythm. I tried to give the team everything I had. I gave them 100 percent of what I had, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.”
While there are personnel decisions to be made, the core of Chandler, Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire is expected back. Off the 54-win season with the core back, Chandler believes the Knicks are capable of wrestling the time spot in the Eastern Conference away from the Miami Heat.
“My goal next year is to be No. 1,” Chandler said. “I definitely think we can do it. There’s a lot of things that we need to address. Everybody to a man is gonna have to come back better, not just me. I believe and I think as long as we’re honest with ourselves this offseason, come back better men and better players, we’ll give ourselves a shot again.”
