Mike D’Antoni says Tyson Chandler still has a key role for Rockets

Among many attributes, D’Antoni says Chandler is critical as a leader and because he can replicate in practice how larger teams play.

As a traditional 7-foot-1 center, Tyson Chandler doesn’t fit in on paper with the smaller emphasis of the Houston Rockets. That’s especially the case with Chandler now 37 years old and in his 19th NBA season.

But even though Chandler fell out of Houston’s rotation and didn’t play a single game minute in nearly two months before the NBA’s COVID-19 hiatus, Chandler still stayed in great shape (as evidenced by video highlights from Houston’s first practice) and reported with the rest of his teammates to the “bubble” site in Florida for the NBA’s restart.

Following’s Sunday’s team practice on Houston’s second day of “training camp,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni was asked about Chandler’s fitness and his role with the team moving forward.

While stopping short of promising game minutes, D’Antoni explained why the veteran is critical to the team —whether he plays or not. He said:

He’s the ultimate professional, he’ll be in shape. If we need him, there’s a lot of talent and experience. He’s the only guy, I think, that’s out there who has won a [championship] ring. We rely on him to talk us through things.

D’Antoni also pointed out that Chandler has a valuable role for the smaller Rockets by replicating in practices how more conventional opponents might attempt to play against Houston’s unorthodox lineups.

“He’s a valuable piece, whether he’s in the rotation or not, or if it’s an emergency,” D’Antoni said. “We’ll see how it works out.”

Chandler, who won his championship ring as the starting center on the 2011 Dallas Mavericks, is a very respected voice in Houston’s locker room. After a key win in late February at Utah, Chandler delivered a passionate postgame speech to his teammates. Among his comments:

Every game, think about what we’re playing for. It’s a shortened season now. So every time we step on the court, we’ve got to understand what we’re building for.

So we’ve got to keep getting better defensively. Because we can. Yeah, we can keep getting better offensively. We’re worried about us getting better.

On the basketball court, Chandler has appeared in 26 games this season. He’s averaging 1.3 points (77.8% FG) and 2.5 rebounds in 8.4 minutes.

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