And with that last statement, what are you doing other than simply saying Chandler is one of your favorite players and that's the reason you'd rather have him?
You don't like Hollinger's PER? How about PPG? Blocks? Lopez nearly DOUBLED Chandler in both. (And he actually played a few less minutes per game.) His "normal" PER is 25% higher. The one area where Chandler outperformed him was in rebounds, where he averaged 3.5 more per game. (I'll give that to you even though I think it's mostly due to the fact that Reggie Evans is sucking up every available rebound.)
But leaving stats aside - again, how much have you watched Lopez this year? Did you watch him on Saturday?
Remember I was a Knicks fan up until this year. I've watched a full season of both players (and have also had some limited viewings of Tyson this year, which I think we can all agree wasn't quite as good a year). So, you should really stop painting me with the "fan of another team who's disrespecting Chandler because I haven't watched him enough to appreciate him" brush - it's much more likely that applies to you regarding Lopez than it does to me regarding Chandler. (And if you've actually watched 70+ Nets games this year, my apologies - although, in that case, I am left scratching my head as to why you don't agree with me.)
Up until this year, I would have agreed with you that he was as good or better. When I started following the Nets, I desperately hoped that they'd be able to close the deal for Howard, which wouldn't meant Lopez and a whole slew of other pieces going the other way. Now I'm glad it never happened. Both Lopez's offense and defense have improved markedly this year and the result has been a closing of the gap with Tyson on the defensive side and a widening of the gap on the offensive side. Tyson is a great player - and he used to be the better player - but Lopez has developed and passed him.
Never said Tyson was my favorite player. Defense wins championships. Tyson is a leader. Tyson has been integral to the success of 3 separate teams (Hornets w Paul, Mavericks, Knicks). His defense helped the Mavericks top the Heat. Put current Lopez on that Mavericks team a few years back and I doubt they make it past 5.
Also, how much is Lopez actually playing against opposing centers? I feel like he's utilized as a PF while Evans is used more as the center. Lopez was PF the last couple of seasons.
Did I watch Lopez on Saturday? Nope. Does it matter? Noah's not healthy. Boozer could barely hold his own against Chris Copeland. Lopez can go rampant on their entire back court (or is it front court... I always get the two confused). Come back when he has to match up against Hibbert or Chandler.
I'm not the one negatively painting you as the fan of another team. You ARE disrespecting Chandler by even comparing Lopez to him defensively. Lopez has never, and will never, come close to matching Tyson defensively. I could care less if you jumped ship. You support who you support, its fine by me.
As for statistics. PER? Blocks? Get out of here. One of the kids I know here is some sort of beat writer/blogger for the Cavaliers and tries to whip out these same statistics. "Varejao is better than Tyson" he tells me. He referenced those same things. Tell me, would you rather have Anderson Varejao than Tyson Chandler? These are made up things man. Amare Stoudemire averaged nearly a block more in 2010-2011 (year of the Mavericks championship) than Chandler. He averaged over 15 points per game more than Chandler that season. He was only about 1.5 rebs a game behind Chandler too. Who in their right mind would put the two in the same sentence with defense? No one. The stats you give me aren't indicative of the play. Just PPG, and again, i'm not comparing the two offensively. I've already conceded that.
You can take Lopez. Go ahead. I'm choosing Chandler for far more practical reasons than you are choosing Lopez. His experience alone is far more valuable than any statistic you have to offer me. His defense is under rated and far less heralded than Lopez's offense. Sure Chandler has been worse this year but he's been unfortunate, playing through knee and back problems the entire season, and still dominating opponents relatively consistently. Grit, sound defense, experience... thats what wins championships. Tyson has all 3 of those characteristics, he's also won a championship.
Lopez? Talk to me when him and his squad face the heat next round... and thats if the Bulls don't come back.
