NBA Free Agents 2011: Tyson Chandler vs. Nene Hilario, Who's Better?
There's little doubt about one thing—the two best centers in free agency this year are Tyson Chandler and Nene Hilario (though some will try to wedge Samuel Dalembert in there). Those are going to be the two most sought after centers though.
This leads to the question, which one is better? As with any discussion like this the best place to start is the numbers. Now bear in mind I said "start" as there are always those who want to tell you that numbers tell the whole story. Let's just agree they do tell part of the story.
| Tyson Chandler | 27.6 | 3.1 | 5.4 | .568 | 2.1 | 3.4 | .626 | 8.8 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 8.3 |
| Nene Hilario | 29.6 | 4.6 | 8.2 | .563 | 3.1 | 4.6 | .678 | 6.9 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 12.3 |
Over the course of their careers Nene has shown himself to be a a better scorer and Chandler has shown himself to be the be better rebounder.
What some may be surprised by is that Nene actually has more steals and Chandler has the higher field goal percentage since Nene is the "efficient scorer" and Chandler is the "defensive specialist". My point isn't to argue that but to say that both are competent on both ends of the court.
How about the advanced stats?
| Tyson Chandler | 15.5 | 113 | 102 | 25.5 | 29.3 | 54.9 | 0.144 |
| Nene Hilario | 17.4 | 113 | 103 | 27.4 | 22.1 | 49.5 | 0.152 |
| Tyson Chandler | .599 | 12.7 | 24.2 | 18.5 | 4.4 | 1.0 | 3.8 | 18.2 | 14.1 |
| Nene Hilario | .605 | 8.4 | 18.3 | 13.4 | 10.0 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 15.9 | 18.1 |
Once again the striking thing here is that there numbers are very close. Again, both players show they are competent on both ends of the floor. Chandler is a slightly better defensive player and Nene is a slightly better offensive player.
According to the "eye test" Chandler is a hustle player and a glue guy. Chandler does a good job on defense because he knows how to occupy the lane and altar shots. He's not a guy who can put the ball on the floor and score, but he is a good finisher.
In fact he's hugely underrated as a pick and roll player. He scores 1.39 points per play when he's the roll man, which is the second best of anyone in the NBA.
Nene is a player that can score from anywhere in the paint. and put the ball in the bucket. He plays competent defense but not so good in the post, giving up .88 points per play. A bit undersized for a center he also gives up 1.02 points per play on the spot up defense.
On the other hand he is extremely proficient offensively in the post, scoring 1.01 points per play.
So the answer to "who is better" depends largely on who you are playing for. If you have a team like Houston that needs an offensive center who can defend, then Hilario is better. If you need defensive center who can put the ball through the hoop, but have a power forward who can score like Dirk Nowitzki, the answer is Tyson Chandler.
Sorry if that's too diplomatic an answer but the truth is the players are close enough that the deciding factor is what you need.
