01/07/2008 - 22:50
Weekend Review
by Joshua Aronson

After briefly surrendering the title of NBA's leading offensive rebounder, Ty regained it this weekend with back-to-back monster performances against two formidable West Coast opponents.

Friday night, No. 6 pumped in 22 points to go with a season-high tying 22 rebounds (eight offensive) as New Orleans defeated the Golden State Warriors, 116-104, in Oakland. The next evening, Tyson followed that up with 19 points and 11 rebounds (six offensive) as the Hornets (23-11) sunk the Phoenix Suns (23-10) in Arizona, 118-113.

It was New Orleans' sixth straight road win -- a record since the franchise moved to Louisiana. And yet again, Ty is on top of the offensive rebounding board, averaging an eye-popping 4.4 grabs per game.

Phoenix's Boris Diaw gets a first-hand view of the NBA's greatest offensive rebounder (Getty Images).

CATCH 22
Ty was literally unstoppable in Oakland en route to 22 and 22 -- just ask Geoff Lepper of the San Jose Mercury News:

The Hornets' rugged front line also looked like All-Stars - forwards Peja Stojakovic and David West combined for 44 points and 11 rebounds, and center Tyson Chandler ran roughshod through the paint.

Moreover, Tyson scored his points on 9 of 11 shots.

VS. AMARE
In Phoenix, Tyson went up against Suns center Amare Stoudamire, who currently has the second-most All-Star team votes of any center. Who finished the hard-fought night with a better stat line?

• Tyson: 19 points, 11 rebounds.
• Amare: 17 points, eight rebounds.

And of course, New Orleans got the W, too.

Afterward, Tyson praised the team and teammates Janero Pargo and Chris Paul, who made up the scoring deficit left by the injured David West.

"It turned out to be a great road trip. We showed a lot of courage in the second half. With DW out, that put the onus on them to make shots -- and they did it."

HORNETS ON THE RISE
Can New Orleans compete with the West's best come playoff time? Tom Ziller of AOL's Fanhouse thinks so, and named a certain No. 6 as a critical piece of the success puzzle.

So New Orleans will likely make it to the playoffs. Once we get to there, can New Orleans compete? Chris Paul's a dark horse MVP candidate, and the team defense (starting with Tyson Chandler) is superb, based on denying offensive rebounds and avoiding fouls.

Mike Kahn of FOXSports.com thinks so as well, devoting a large portion of his January 4th column to Tyson, and why he obtaining him two seasons ago from Chicago was a master stroke.

Probably none of this would have come together had the Hornets front office not stolen Chandler from the Bulls. With concerns about his back and the slow development of his offensive skills, the Bulls felt they were better off moving him for veteran P.J. Brown and took J.R. Smith as well. Well, Brown retired after one moribund season and they cut Smith. The salary cap space allowed them to sign Ben Wallace, but he's 10 years older, five inches shorter and not putting up numbers anymore.

Meanwhile, Chandler just missed averaging a double-double last season, scoring 9.5 points a game and competing for the NBA rebounding title with 12.4 per contest. He also began blocking shots as a higher rate as the season progressed, finishing at 1.77 per game. Suddenly, he was becoming a dominant big man on a regular basis.

RELATED STORIES
Can the Hornets Compete With the West Elite? (Fanhouse, Jan. 7, 2008)
Hornets Love Being Road Warriors (NBA.com, Jan. 6, 2008)
Hornets beat Suns to extend winning streak (Times-Picayune, Jan. 5, 2008)
Do Hornets have enough depth to hold up? (FOXSports.com, Jan. 4, 2008)