12/22/2007 - 23:00
Two Days 'Til Christmas
by Tyson Chandler

We're playing well right now. We're in a good point in the season where we can show some maturity by going on a nice little winning streak. We've got a chance to win five games in a row, which would put us at 20-10, which looks a lot better than when we were at 15-10.

Against Portland, we just couldn't make shots. We played pretty well defensively. We kept them in the 80s, but we couldn't make a shot. It's not like they were making many shots, but we were going 0-for-5 and they were going 1 or 2-for-5. And they're beating everybody right now.

ON THE BOARDS
Sometimes, I just feel good physically and when I'm out there, I just make it a point to chase down every rebound. Normally, as the season goes along, I feel like I get stronger and stronger, and I get a little more aggressive.

But I'm starting to notice that it's definitely getting mentioned in the scouting report, because I can hear the opposing coaches screaming, "Box him out" before somebody's even thinking about shooting.

After the games, sometimes I feel like I got 20 rebounds and I end up with 15, and sometimes I feel like I got eight and I end up with 16. So, the different ways of stat-keeping cracks me up a little bit sometimes.

Looking at the league leaders is motivation, because I'm like, "Alright, I'm about to make a run at 'em." By the All-Star break, I want to be in the top three. Then, I'll make my run at No. 1. But I definitely gotta catch up. They got a head start at the beginning of the year.

And I love that my guy Dwight is No. 1. I'm gonna love competing with him for that.

IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME
Every Christmas, my wife and I (really my whole family) gather a group home or some underprivileged children and go to either Wal-Mart or Toys R Us, buy them gift cards and let them shop a little bit and have fun. We did that today.

And I'm a late Christmas shopper, so I did some shopping myself. I always get everything at the last minute. We're getting my daughter a little kitchen set and a few more toys. She's got a million toys as it is, but I guess we'll take up some more space in the living room.

I think we leave for Memphis around six on Christmas night. But Christmas Eve, we'll spend the whole day with my family. And then Christmas Day, obviously, we'll be opening presents, have an early Christmas dinner, and then I'll take off.

My mother and my two little brothers came down. My father-in-law, mother-in-law and my wife's brothers came down. We're all just one big family. We hang around the dinner table, the kids play video games and run around and do bad stuff. Us guys will be around the TV watching the games with the girls in the kitchen.

My favorite Christmas gift as a kid was this He-Man gun type of deal where it shot out these little Frisbees. I loved that thing, man. I would shoot 'em and then chase 'em down and try to dive on 'em. I didn't have any little brothers or sisters at that time, so I was pretty much a one-man band.

To me, every holiday is all about family. It's not about getting gifts and all that stuff. It's really about enjoying the moment in the time and place that you're at, with the people you love.

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