Can Chandler play the 2?

Not terribly yet, b/c he needs to develop a little more, but he's mainly a 3 which is good. If he's a hard worker, which I'm sure he is, he'll be able to defend there and maybe eventually switch to the 2 at times. He's a nice pickup, but well, he's got a nice ways to go.

He is not a very good defender right now, he is very long so he will block some shots, but seemed a little lazy getting up on the ball and locating his man, that being said he would be a nice option to put in there because of matchup problems he would create.

Posted by martin:

probably not. Too big and not ultra-quick (although not too shabby). He seems to be a legit 6'8" who is strong. You want him at the 3.

Now, Balk at the 2? sure.

not until he can actually shoot the ball consistently, but defensively again....is he quick enough ? he's quick enough to defend 3's.

Also, he's the mayor. You should know that.

Posted by VDesai:

I like the thought of having him and Balk in there at the same time. Sometimes you need to dictate instead of worrying about matchups. These are two big, mobile guys who can play the wing and are outstanding athletes. From what I've seen of Chandler's jumper so far on the NBA level is that its money. It was erratic at DePaul, but he looks like a much different player here- smoother, more in control and more fundamentally sound.

I think a lineup of Mardy or Jamal at the point, with Balk and Chandler on the wings could be an interesting "BIG" lineup that would cause some matchup problems for other teams.

A lineup of Mardy, Chandler or Q, and Balkman would be our best perimeter defensive team and would probably mask the lack of defense from Curry and Randolph.

I like the big line-up and would play a version of it myself. I can't stand our 3 guard line-ups. On other nights it leaves us in a hole defensively and our offense becomes a one on one fest. Unless they are going off I think this line-up hurts us more than anything. It could work if we had a Ben Wallace type up front but with our defensively challenged players up front I think it's more negative than positive. I personally would like to dictate what goes on, on the floor. We will pound you to death.

Q at the 2
Balk and Lee at the 3.

You can now dictate the game if you are playing well and can force other teams to respond to your team. Plus you have two guys that attempt to play defense at any given time. Until Isiah decides on a style of play he will always be mixing and matching trying to find the magic formula that will work on that particular night. No way to build a team.

Posted by EnySpree:

Chandler is a nice strong small fwd. I can see him being like a poor mans rashard lewis......poor man I said......chandler isn't very explosive but he is athletic. He also doesn't seem like he is comfprtable settling for the outside shot but he knocks them down consistantly enough. In 3 year wilson chandler could be the starting 3 for our knicks.......right now? Knicks are screwed.

Wally Z., wally z, wallly z, wally z.............

you like wally? Dude can shoot but he is a non-defensive guy. I don't even know what team he is on these days.

Qrich and MRose for Wally.

Yeah that's not happening, is it...

Chandler, from what i've seen of him is a hard worker and he understands the game. His defense is at least decent , which is to be expected from anyone who truly takes pride in his game but his shot is questionable even though he seems relatively at ease shooting it and making his shots. I can understand the comparisons to RJ even though he seems like a better shooter at this point and a better defender than RJ was during his rookie year. RJ relied mostly on his athleticism and up-tempo Nets game privided by Kidd and was not a shooter at all when he was a rookie.
As far as playing the 2, if he continues shooting like he is and developing the other aspects of his game, he could be it because his attitude and his effort on d will carry him over until his offense is polished.

Posted by Bippity10:

I think instead of trying to train Chandler to be a 2 guard, why don't we let him carve out a role at his natural position and then find someone that already knows how to play offense/defense at the 2 guard position?

Just a thought. At some point it makes sense to grab guys that are already successful at certain things instead of training others to do it.

What a stupid idea.