Alex Len, Not Tyson Chandler, Protects The Phoenix Suns' Rim

Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Phoenix Suns, featuring Alex Len and Tyson Chandler, should protect the rim well.

With the two big fella’s last season? The Phoenix Suns gave up the 9th highest field goal percentage within 5 feet last year (.603% against), according to NBA.com, and the 6th highest FG percentage within the restricted area (.625% against).

The year before, the Suns had been the 11th worst within 5 feet (.590% against), and 10th worst in the restricted area (.611% against).

Why didn’t adding another big man in Tyson Chandler help?

To start, rim protection comes down to more than just the center on a team. The injuries to the guards likely contributed to the team-wide issues. Last year the Suns’ forwards played horrible defense as well.

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The good news, is the Suns moved on from poor defensive forwards, and will start the year healthy.

The problem, at least in the short-term, is that the Suns new forwards are so young that they lack both the experience and the physical build to protect the rim. It is still going to be up to the center to provide the Suns true rim protection.

Adding Tyson Chandler also didn’t help rim protection because Alex Len is already a better rim protector than Tyson Chandler.

The Suns can become a better rim protecting team by simply allowing Alex Len to own the center position.

It is worth pointing out that both Chandler and Len’s block rates went down significantly last season, and that neither were exceptional shot blockers by any stretch.

I’m also not going to pretend that Len’s 2.8% block percentage compared to Chandler’s 2.2% proves Len is a better rim protector: neither blocked a high number of shots, and blocked shots are typically an overly simple way to look at rim protection.

What really makes Alex Len better than Tyson Chandler?

Next: The Numbers Show Len's Advantage

Apr 13, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Clippers center Cole Aldrich (45) guards Phoenix Suns center Alex Len (21) at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns won 114-105. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

To decide the Phoenix Suns best rim protector, Alex Len or Tyson Chandler, simple block numbers won’t cut it.

Instead, let’s look at more advanced resources provided to us by Nylon Calculus for the 2015-16 season.

These are some unusual metrics, so let’s walk through these, what they are, and what the numbers mean.

The FG% allowed is the percentage that defender allowed on shots at the rim. That means that over the course of the season, Alex Len forced opponents to shoot 2.1% worse at the rim than Tyson Chandler.

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Contest % is the number of shots at the rim, while on the floor, a player contests. So both Alex Len and Tyson Chandler contested around 27.75% of opponent’s shots.

Points saved is an estimate of the points a player saved the team with their contests. Points saved/36 is the same metric per 36 minutes. Notice that Len is a positive, while Chandler is a significant negative.

Opp Rim Attempts per 36 On is simply the opponent’s rim attempts per 36 minutes when that player is on the floor.

Opp Rim Attempts per 36 Off is simply the opponent’s rim attempts per 36 minutes when that player is off the floor.

The difference between those two, Rim Attempts On/Off, can be thought of as a fear factor, or a deterrent factor. Opponents take 3.3 fewer shots at the rim when Tyson Chandler is on the floor, while they actually take 0.1 more with Len on the floor.

Next: Can Devin Booker Reach Suns Lofty Sophomore Standard?

If the numbers say Len is the better defender, then why are teams seemingly attacking him more than Chandler?

It is impossible to tell if that is a strategy teams are implementing, but based on the numbers, expect teams to starting avoiding Len and attacking Chandler instead.

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