Chandler helps Mavs become elite defenders

Tyson Chandler refused to let Kevin Garnett have his way in the post Monday night. (NBAE via Getty Images)

Many folks shrugged when the Mavericks used Erick Dampier’s expiring contract to land only Tyson Chandler and some long-term payroll relief. After more than a year of talking up Dampier’s trade value – the final year on old his deal was not guaranteed, making him valuable trade bait – it seemed a disappointment that he netted only a defense-first center with a shaky health history and a nonexistent offensive game.

But Chandler is playing wonderfully, and he’s the most important reason the Mavericks have a chance to be an elite defensive team. And becoming an elite defensive team might be the best way for the Mavs to emerge as a threat in the Western Conference as their offensive arsenal beyond Dirk Nowitzki declines with age. The Mavs have allowed just 99.3 points per 100 possessions, the fourth-best mark in the league. And though it’s early, they’re starting to reveal the foundation of a top defense.

The Mavs aren’t doing anything fancy on defense. Their system is based on length and smart positioning. That starts with Chandler, who manages to protect the paint — the most important principal of Dallas’ defense — without giving up open looks elsewhere on the court.

In Dallas’ 89-87 win over Boston on Monday, Chandler spent most of game guarding Kevin Garnett, who usually feasts on bulkier centers by popping mid-range jumpers and moving without the ball. Not against Chandler, though. Consider a sequence with three minutes left in the first quarter, when Chandler, after checking Garnett at the left elbow, dropped down to help Jason Terry defend Marquis Daniels on the left block, and then slid back out in time to prevent a jump shot when Daniels kicked the ball to KG.

And then consider a play with four minutes remaining in the second quarter, when Paul Pierce appeared to have Caron Butler beat on a drive along the left baseline. Chandler, who was guarding Garnett on the right baseline, took a big slide-step into the paint and deterred the drive without giving Pierce an easy passing lane to Garnett. Pierce pulled up for a contested mid-range shot and missed.

That type of shot — a contested, mid-range shot — has been the basis of Dallas’ stinginess so far. Only five teams are allowing opponents to take more shots from the “floater” region between the rim and 10 feet out, and none are holding teams to a lower percentage on those shots than Dallas (33 percent). Boston was 5-of-18 on Monday.

But Chandler is not just contributing in the half-court; he looks healthy, and his transition defense against Boston was outstanding. With about two minutes to go in the second quarter, Chandler was the last man back to defend a streaking Rajon Rondo in transition — a terrifying assignment for a big man. Chandler stuck with Rondo, forcing him to crisscross the paint, dribble under the basket and try a reverse layup. Chandler blocked it.

Perhaps the most telling possession was midway through the third, when Garnett ran hard down the court as Rondo brought the ball up in delayed transition. Garnett hit the foul line and suddenly accelerated, bulling his shoulders into Chandler’s chest to try to post up, hoping to catch Dallas’ big man by surprise and establish deep post position.

Chandler was having none of it. He met Garnett at the dotted line and held his position as KG rammed his back and left arm into Chandler three times. Garnett eventually gave up and accepted an entry pass from Rondo outside the paint.

Very few big men have the combination of speed and strength to do this to Garnett. Chandler does as long as he’s healthy, and it’s no coincidence that the Mavs are playing significantly better defense with him on the court.

Other notes from Dallas’ win over Boston:

• To understand the threat of Nowitzki’s shooting, just watch the play with about 1:25 left in the game that resulted in Terry’s game-tying three. The Mavs started with a simple pick-and-roll with Jason Kidd and Nowitzki. Garnett, who was guarding Nowitzki, didn’t move an inch as Kidd went over the screen. He stayed attached to Dirk’s back, giving Kidd a clear path to the paint as Rondo trailed far behind.

Boston never does this. Never. Garnett’s default pick-and-roll defense is to jump out at the ball-handler and prevent him from turning the corner. He rarely deviates from this, and when he does, he slides laterally to stop the drive instead of jumping out. But doing nothing and just sticking with the screener? You don’t see this.

But the Celtics and Garnett decided that leaving Nowitzki open for a pick-and-pop was not an option, regardless of whatever breakdowns might happen elsewhere as a result of Garnett’s sticking to Dirk.

And boy did breakdowns happen. Kidd drove into the lane untouched, Ray Allen helped off Terry and Kidd found Terry for an easy three from the right corner. Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN noted that Rondo angrily criticized Allen for leaving Terry, but that wasn’t where the play broke down for Boston.

• Nowitzki is an underrated defender. He takes good angles, positions himself well and uses his long arms to disrupt passing lanes. The combined length the Mavs throw out in a Dirk-Chandler-Shawn Marion frontcourt is, on its own, a major problem for opponents.

• Boston fans wondered if this would finally be the year when Glen Davis put it all together. Two years ago, he became a good jump shooter when the Celtics needed him when Garnett was sidelined with a knee injury. Last season, Davis tried to become a power player again, leaving the jump shooting to Garnett and Rasheed Wallace. Only the move didn’t work, because Davis couldn’t finish at the rim. He also struggled on his jumper, perhaps because of an early season thumb injury.

So far this season, Davis has hit 72 percent of his looks at the rim and 46 percent of his long two-point jumpers. He hasn’t started any games, but he’s clearly the Celtics’ top center, and Big Baby’s solid play means someone in Boston’s big-man rotation is going to lose most — and perhaps all — of his playing time when Kendrick Perkins returns.