Tyson Chandler: Why Knicks Center Is Consensus Defensive Player of the Year

The New York Knicks signed center Tyson Chandler in free agency to improve the team's defense and bring championship fortitude to an inexperienced squad, and he's done all of that and more this season.

Chandler is the clear choice for Defensive Player of the Year, an award that Orlando Magic star center Dwight Howard has won the last three seasons.

Let's examine why Chandler should win the award, then look at some video footage.

Improvements Across the Board

While Chandler's rebounding and blocked shots averages are impressive, the real impact he's had on the Knicks' defensive improvement is seen by watching him play each night, and not looking at the box score.

Anyone can block a couple shots and steal a few passes and look like a defensive star, but when they make poor decisions and don't defend well consistently, it's easy to see why we don't consider them great defensive players.

Chandler not only blocks shots, he lowers the amount that are even attempted, because guards would rather pass the ball to a guy who's open on the perimeter than challenge the Knicks center and risk being blocked or missing the shot.

Let's look at how the Knicks team this season compares to last year's group without Chandler in several important defensive categories.

Year	Opp. FG%	Opp 3-PT %	Pts/G	Pts in Paint
2011	.472	.372	105.7	42
2012	.441	.352	94.6	33

There are a few parts of this chart that stand out to me. One is the difference in points in the paint from last year to this year. 

Chandler is the No. 1 reason that opponents are finding it much harder to score on the Knicks inside this season. Over the last few years, the Knicks had no legitimate shot-blockers in the paint that opposing team's feared. 

Since teams are having a much harder time scoring in the paint against New York this season, the Knicks' points allowed per game has also gone down significantly. The Knicks have given up about 11 fewer points per game this season, which is a massive improvement. 

As the chart indicates, teams are having a tough time shooting as well from the field and three-point line as they did last season versus the Knicks. Once again, Chandler is a major reason for this improvement.

One way Chandler is improving the Knicks defense that cannot be quantified on the stat sheet is his ability to make everyone else's job around him easier.

The Knicks' perimeter players don't have to worry about sagging off guys because they don't want to get beaten off the dribble because there's no one in the paint to save them.

With Chandler owning the paint defensively, the Knicks' perimeter defenders can be aggressive and not worry about being beaten, because if they are, Chandler will step up and make a play.

While Howard's defense fills more spots on highlight reels because of his massive blocks that often end up in the the first few rows, Chandler's defense is just as effective for his team.

The Knicks used to be a team that played little defense and were easy to score on inside, but with Chandler in the fold this season, both of those are no longer the case in New York.

Chandler is the obvious choice for Defensive Player of the Year after changing the defensive culture of the Knicks.

Video Proof of Defensive Points Made Above

Defense in the Paint

Last year, Spencer Hawes would have either scored or gotten fouled on this kind of play. Chandler completely shuts him down then shows a ton of emotion, which lets his teammates know that the real plays to get excited over are defensive stops.

Help Defense

The Knicks can afford to get close to Derrick Rose because Chandler is waiting to help if needed in the paint.

Post Defense

On this play, Chandler doesn't allow Jazz center Al Jefferson to get to a comfortable spot and forces him baseline, where he has little room to get a shot up.

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