The Crescent City Connection is back (AP)
Remember those nutty conspiracy theorists who insisted Coca-Cola’s introduction of New Coke was an intentional ploy to draw people back to Classic Coke when the ill-fated experiment failed?
Of course you do. And if you don’t, bear with me anyway.
If Tyson Chandler keeps playing like he has the last two games, someone in the Hornets’ organization might float the idea that his “trade” to the Oklahoma City Thunder last week was a ploy to light a fire under him.
Otherwise, no one has been this lucky since Coca-Cola not only survived its formula-change debacle, but thrived.
Ten days ago, Chandler was history in New Orleans, exchanged for a couple of spare parts (Chris Wilcox and Joe Smith) from one of the worst teams in the NBA. His numbers were down from 2007-08. A sprained ankle had forced him to miss 12 games in a row. Plus, the Hornets wanted to purge his salary to avoid having to pay a luxury tax for being over the cap in the offseason.
Somehow, he failed a physical in Oklahoma City for an old injury (turf toe) that had not forced him to miss a game in two years. With the trade rescinded, he came back to New Orleans neither gimpy nor grumpy.
Instead, he has been a hero in his first two home games.
Friday night, he saved the Hornets from an epic meltdown by tipping a missed shot by David West off the backboard with 3.3 seconds left to give them a 95-94 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. New Orleans led 89-72 at the 4:00 mark before Milwaukee went on a 22-4 run behind a barrage of 3-pointers, including Charlie Bell’s go-ahead trey with 10 seconds remaining.
Wednesday night, he grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds as New Orleans held off Detroit 90-87. The Hornets, second-to-last in the NBA in rebounding, beat the Pistons 51-38 on the boards.
Before the Hornets tried to deal him, Chandler was averaging 8.8 points and 8.3 rebounds. In his last two games, he is averaging 12 points and 13 rebounds, slightly above his average from his breakthrough season in 2007-08. Just as importantly, he is playing with the same energy the Hornets fed off a year ago.
Three times on Friday, point guard Chris Paul hooked up with him for the Crescent City Connection, the alley-oop play they made famous last season. Chandler’s 106 dunks off of passes from Paul were more than 60 ahead of the next most prolific duo.
Maybe Chandler’s near-departure was exactly what the Hornets needed. The players weren’t happy with management when the trade was announced. West said the Hornets’ interior defense would be significantly worse without their 7-0 stopper, reminding him of the 2006-07 team that missed the playoffs.
Without Chandler, the Hornets probably would have lost to Detroit. Without his tip-in, they definitely would have lost to Milwaukee, and the scars from that defeat might have lasted a long time.
At the minimum, the difference in those results is a sixth-place team a game-and-a-half away from home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs instead of an eighth-place team a half-game ahead of the Phoenix Suns for the final spot.
The potentially awkward circumstance of Chandler’s return has been no problem to this point. Whether it has a negative impact on the future is another question, but if he felt any bitterness about being dealt, he has hidden it well.
The new Chandler is as peppy as Classic Coke.
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