Wilson Chandler Emerging as Rare Bright Spot Amid Denver Nuggets' Struggles
DENVER — No one could have predicted this type of breakthrough from Wilson Chandler.
He'd missed the entire 2015-16 NBA season, continuing to heal a hip injury suffered in China one year prior. As he said before the beginning of this new campaign, "It was a long summer. Just rehabbing and working out, pretty much. Took a couple trips, but mostly rehabbing."
Beyond that, he would be playing for a Denver Nuggets squad loaded with burgeoning talent at all positions—playing time might be more difficult to come by. He was also entering his age-29 season, which means he should've been moving away from his true athletic prime.
None of that has mattered.
While the younger Nuggets have largely struggled and failed to push the team past mediocrity, Chandler has thrived off the bench to emerge as a legitimate Sixth Man of the Year candidate. Through 18 appearances, he's averaging 18.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from the three-point line.
It's the best he's ever played, and not just because he's setting new career highs in scoring, rebounding and field-goal percentage. Chandler is also on pace for high-water marks in player efficiency rating (18.7), true shooting percentage (55.6), total rebounding percentage (12.4), usage rate (24.5), offensive box plus/minus (1.9) and box plus/minus (0.8).
"[Last season] was super painful," he said. "I went through a lot. But it made me stronger as a person, and I got to see things from the coaches' perspectives."
That newfound viewpoint has been huge, allowing him to recognize when he should start taking over games. Chandler has never been the type of player who fires up shots in quick succession—he'll be the first to talk about the necessity of ball movement in many situations—but he's shown no hesitation going on scoring binges in the right situations.
Against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 25, he set a new career high in single-game field-goal attempts by scoring 32 points on 25 shots. Two nights later, he helped spark a win over the Phoenix Suns with a 25-spot. Even during recent losses, he's helped the offense remain afloat with stretches of timely triples, pull-up jumpers and assaults on the rim.
"Wilson is always a mismatch nightmare," Emmanuel Mudiay said about his teammate.
Now that his shot looks deadlier, defenders can't figure out whether to remain in close proximity and risk an explosion to the painted area (his preferred method of scoring) or sag off and leave him with an open jumper. But focusing only on Chandler's scoring is a disservice to his all-around game.
Head coach Mike Malone recognized as much before the season started: "He's a guy who checks more boxes than anyone else with what he brings to the table. Wilson's versatility is what sets him apart. He can guard four positions. You can play him at the 3, the 4 and, if we go really small, maybe at the 5. To have his scoring, his defense, his toughness, all his intangibles…he's like a free-agent signing."
Malone may still have underestimated his impact.
Chandler has spent most of his time at the 3 and 4, but he has indeed played some center—albeit briefly against the Houston Rockets. It's his work at shooting guard, which Malone didn't even mention, that has proved more crucial.
Chandler's defensive numbers don't stand out, but they also sell him short. They don't account for his willingness to take on the toughest matchups each night, even when those involve him sliding down in the lineup to guard a backcourt superstar such as DeMar DeRozan or James Harden.
He's simply done everything for this team. And while it hasn't led to nearly as many wins as expected, Denver does play far better when he's on the court. Here's NBA Math with some more detailed feedback:
"Personally, I think this is the best basketball I've played since that season that we were traded here," Chandler told Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post.
We'll go further than that.
It's the best he's ever played.
Denver Nuggets Insider Notebook
Energy Crisis
"If we don't change our mindset and our approach, it's going to be more of the same," Malone explained after last Friday's 128-110 beatdown at the hands of the Rockets, who hadn't arrived at their hotel rooms until 5 a.m. MT for the second half of a road back-to-back (which began with a double-overtime victory over the Golden State Warriors).
All that context made the loss feel even worse—and the players' lack of energy even more inexplicable.
"Miami came here and kicked our ass," Malone continued. "Houston came in here and kicked our ass. If we think we can just show up to Utah [Saturday] night and it's going to be different, we'll get our ass kicked again. We're a bad team right now."
The result in Salt Lake City wasn't nearly as bad, but the 105-98 defeat did push the Nuggets' losing streak to three games. For a group that entered the season with playoff aspirations, a set of six contests leading to one meager victory is more than just disappointing, especially with a lengthy road trip looming.
And no singular factor can explain everything.
Malone is still struggling to figure out rotations on a deep squad stocked with players who need court time. The youthful contributors are underperforming significantly, and Mudiay's continued issues running the point aren't helping. Plus, the team is searching for a direction it can't seem to find.
But energy may well be the biggest issue. Since a Nov. 22 victory over the Chicago Bulls, the Nuggets fare terribly in a number of NBA.com's hustle stats:
| Through Nov. 22 | 12.6 (No. 26) | 5.1 (No. 2) | 63.9 (No. 13) |
| Since Nov. 22 | 9.7 (No. 30) | 3.7 (No. 28) | 48.2 (No. 30) |
"That first half [against Houston], we kept track of 50-50 balls," Malone said during his postgame press conference. "They got six in the first half and converted those into 12 points. It's one thing to be outplayed. It's a completely other thing to be outworked."
Whether the team has quit exerting itself or is simply down in the dumps about its recent struggles remains to be seen. But it's not only the man holding the clipboard who sees the issues.
"We got to lock in for 48 minutes," Mudiay said after last Wednesday's 106-98 loss to the short-handed Heat that preceded the Houston disaster. "Sometimes, we play the score instead of playing hard every possession. That's something we have to grow on and something we've got to get better at."
"We can't have those stretches where we don't play with energy," Jameer Nelson explained following the same defeat. "We can't afford that. We don't have a LeBron [James]. We don't have a superstar right now. ... Hit a little stretch of adversity, like we did in the game tonight. We can't put our heads down. Felt like we put our heads down a little too much."
Denver's schedule is about to ease up substantially. But if the energy levels don't change quickly, it'll be too late.
Mike Miller's Future
The Nuggets may have a future head coach in their ranks.
Mike Miller isn't typically mentioned as a future coaching candidate, but Malone doesn't care. If Miller is brought up during a press conference, shootaround or postgame session, you should buckle up. You're in for a lengthy learning session about the small forward's leadership skills. Take the following remarks from the current signal-caller, which came before a matchup with Miller's old Miami squad.
"Last year was the first opportunity that I was able to coach Mike [Miller], and I really fell in love with what he brought to the table, which is veteran leadership—two-time world champion, former Sixth Man of the Year, former Rookie of the Year," Malone said. "Mike's energy every day...I haven't been around many guys that are 17-year vets that bring that energy and that vocal leadership every single day. Mike Miller never has a bad day. Mike Miller is a guy that if I have to put him in the game to get the ball inbounds or to play meaningful minutes, I trust him 1,000 percent.
"But for me, the biggest thing is we have such a young team. And any time you can put a guy like Mike Miller who's accomplished as much as he has, who's about all the right things—team player, character, culture—I think we need to surround our young players with guys like that. I think Mike Miller is worth every penny he gets, and I'm thankful he's part of our team."
This isn't the first time Malone has gushed, either.
"I trust Mike," Malone said at media day. "I would lean on him, whether at practice, in games, in huddles. 'Mike, what do you see out there?' He will be a head coach in the NBA. He will be a [general manager] in the NBA. Whatever he wants to do at some point, because he's been around some great coaches and great minds, and he has a lot to offer."
The veteran has suited up only four times in 2016-17 for a grand total of 17 minutes. But that's irrelevant because his most important contributions come off the court, where he's continuing to help mentor young players such as Mudiay.
Long after he can no longer knock down triples, he's going to have a positive impact.
Adam Fromal covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @fromal09.
Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from Basketball-Reference.com, NBA.com or NBA Math and are current heading into games on Dec. 5, and all quotes obtained firsthand.
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