11/09/2009 - 13:10
Doubling Down Against Atlanta
by Devon Jeffreys

It appears the preseason rust is wearing off for Tyson Chandler.

The Charlotte Bobcats are reaping the rewards for it.

Tyson recorded his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and added four blocks to help the Bobcats roll over the Atlanta Hawks 103-83 on Friday night.

The showing was by far Tyson's best of the season as he works to find his niche in a brand new offense while recovering from two offseason surgeries.

TC was all over the glass and scored on a pair of tip-ins, a pair of alley oops and a layup for good measure. Of his 10 boards, eight came on the defensive end. He blocked a shot each from four of Atlanta's top six scorers on the night and two of his blocks came in the fourth as the 'Cats pulled away.

Charlotte fans, get used to seeing a lot more of this (Getty Images).

Tyson was 5-5 from the field and continued to leave an impression on Bobcats bloggers, like Dr. E of Bobcats Baseline:

"Tyson Chandler continued to play himself into shape (and learn LB's system on the fly) and ended with his best game yet: 10 pts on 5-5 FG (with two monster ‘oops) and 10 rebounds."

Brett of Queen City Hoops issued congratulations to TC in his By the Numbers column:

"2x2 - Congrats to Tyson Chandler for his first double-double as a Bobcat, with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks in just 30 minutes of work. The Hawks only managed an efficiency of 75.4 while Tyson was manning the post."

While TC was handling the inside, his teammates Raja Bell and Flip Murray were dialing it up from the outside. Bell scored a game-high 24 points and Murray added 15 off the bench. The two combined to drain eight of Charlotte's 11 threes on the night.

Both players have missed time with injury this season and Tyson noted what a boon it was for Charlotte to get them both back, as quoted by HoopsWorld:

"It makes a huge difference because it spreads the floor," he explained. "Those are two of the best shooters on our team, so when they were missing it was tough. We couldn't make shots because we couldn't spread the floor. The paint was packed, and it was hard to penetrate… But with them on the floor we can spread the defense a little better."

NO RETURNS IN RETURN
TC and the 'Cats rode the momentum from Friday night's statement win into Chicago on Saturday night looking to keep the good times rolling.

But Tyson's return to Chi-town was a rude one and the Bulls managed a 93-90 victory to drop Charlotte to 3-3 this season.

No. 6 scored 13 points, his best total this season and added seven rebounds and two blocks to finish out a strong weekend set with 23 points, 17 rebounds and six blocks. But the Big Cat wasn't satisfied with his own efforts because Charlotte watched a seven-point lead at the half vanish when the team came out for the second half flat, as quoted by Bobcats Break:

"We just had a tough start in that third quarter. That is the time where the game was decided," said Tyson Chandler. "They just came out with more energy than us. They hit shots and we didn't, and that decided the game. We had the game under control until that spurt they went on. We turned over the ball a lot and they were just livelier than us that whole quarter."

Tyson was Charlotte's biggest source of offense in the third, scoring seven of the team's 17 points in the frame. No. 6 added six more points in the fourth quarter including two crucial free throws to pull the Cats within two points with 21 seconds left. The Bulls upped the advantage to three with a John Salmons free throw and Flip Murray's last ditch three came up short to hand Charlotte the loss.

David Arnott of Rufus on Fire felt Ty's improvements were a bright spot in the loss:

"Tyson Chandler looks more and more comfortable on both offense and defense, and appears to be settling into his roles. Just as important, his teammates seem to be settling into a comfort zone with him, too. We're just seeing the familiarity usually developed during preseason being developed now."

Meanwhile, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer felt that Tyson's 13 second half points showed that the Bobcats missed out by not going to TC earlier:

"Brown talks a lot these days about the importance of including center Tyson Chandler in the offense. That happened against the Hawks, but certainly not against the Bulls in the first half. Chandler didn't even take a shot until two minutes into the third quarter. Granted, he only played six minutes in the first half, but he still has to be more involved at both ends."

IN THE PAINT
Tyson and some of his teammates recently spent an afternoon in Uptown Charlotte meeting and greeting fans at Lowe's, signing autographs, taking photos, giving out prizes and learning how to make paint.

To see Tyson take part in this Bobcats initiative, check out the video below from Bobcats Break:

NEXT UP
Tyson and his fellow 'Cats return to action tomorrow night when they host Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic. The Magic are the defending Southeast Division Champions and currently sit 1.5 games ahead of the Cats for third place. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and all the action can be seen locally on FSCR.

RELATED STORIES
Two 'Cats make all the difference (Hoops World, November 7, 2009)
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=14274
Hawks at Bobcats Box Score (NBA.com, November 6, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20091106/ATLCHA/boxscore.html
Bell, Bobcats solve offensive woes against Hawks (Bobcats Baseline, November 7, 2009)
http://www.bobcatsbaseline.com/blog/?p=1616
Bobcats vs. Hawks Recap By the Numbers (Queen City Hoops, November 6, 2009)
http://queencityhoops.com/GameRecap110609BTN.php
Road win eludes Bobcats in Chicago (Bobcats Break, November 8, 2009)
http://www.bobcatsbreak.com/?p=883
Bobcats at Bulls Play by Play (NBA.com, November 7, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20091107/CHACHI/playbyplay.html
Observations: Bobcats-Bulls (Charlotte Observer, November 8, 2009)
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/bobcats/story/1044411.html
Bulls beat Bobcats 93-90 (Rufus on Fire, November 7, 2009)
http://www.rufusonfire.com/2009/11/7/1121027/bulls-beat-bobcats-93-90-ca...
Bobcats Paint the Town (Bobcats Break, November 9, 2009)
http://www.bobcatsbreak.com/?p=895