George Willis

George Willis

NBA

Tyson Chandler’s mission: Develop a jumper

All the other Knicks were involved in a five-on-five session during which sneakers squeaked and voices barked out words of encouragement and instruction.

Away from the action was Tyson Chandler, the Knicks 7-foot-1 All-Star center. He was working alone on an adjacent court with a training camp assistant. Standing at the corner of the free-throw line with his back to the basket, Chandler took a pass and turned to shoot a flat-footed jump shot. He did it over and over again. Catch, turn, shoot.

He did this too many times to count, moving from one corner of the free-throw line, to middle of the free-throw line then the other corner. He even hoisted mid-range jumpers from the baseline. Catch, turn, shoot.

After practice it was more of the same with Metta World Peace offering some defense. Catch, turn, shoot.

“I’ve been working on it all summer,” Tyson would explain later. “My goal is to consistently work on it throughout the year. I’ll get with the coaches and continue to gain confidence in it. I’ve put in a lot work. I want to come out more aggressive so that when the year starts it’s more natural for me.”

It doesn’t look natural right now. Stiff-legged and without much spring in his knees, Chandler missed more than he made. Then again, it’s only the second practice of the season.

The Knicks have plenty of scorers in Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith, Raymond Felton and, if he gets right, Andrea Bargnani. But if Chandler can become a consistent threat from mid-range, it would force defenders to stay with him on the pick-and-roll instead of dropping back to clog Felton’s penetration.

Chandler never is going to have the silky stroke of Patrick Ewing, but maybe he can surprise some teams.

“I think it can be deadly,” he said. “If you can knock down that mid-range jump shot, it exploits a lot of bigs, makes them come away from the basket where they’re not comfortable.”

It was his 31st birthday on Wednesday, so Chandler is allowed to think big. If he can make a few jump shots, that would be great. What the Knicks need is for him to stay healthy and remain a dominant defender and rebounder. The rest is gravy.

His 63.8 shooting percentage, mostly from dunks and putbacks, is nothing to complain about. His 10.4 points per game were welcomed, but it’s his 10.7 rebounds and 75 blocks that sets the tone for the Knicks’ defense. He had four games of 20-plus rebounds last season, including three straight to tie a franchise record. The coaches named him to the NBA’s East All-Star team.

But Chandler wore down last season, missing 16 games with a bad knee and bulging disc in his neck that made it hard to lift his arms above his head. He also got sick and lost 10 pounds and couldn’t offer much resistance against the Pacers.

“It was very frustrating exiting the way we did and physically where I was at,” Chandler said. “That’s why all summer what I concentrated on was the weight room and shooting jump shots.”

He’s 253 pounds and hopes to maintain that weight. He also welcomes the addition of World Peace and Bargnani to join Kenyon Martin and Iman Shumpert.

“We have a lot of guys that are defensive-minded and can get after it,” Chandler said. “It’s going to be our defense that puts us over the hump.”

Asked what the Knicks carry over from 2012-13, Chandler didn’t mention the 54 wins or capturing the Atlantic Division. He talked about the “bitter taste” of losing to the Pacers.

“You can see the motivation of the guys so far in training camp,” he said. “There’s communication. A lot of guys are a lot more focused at this stage than in other years.”

Chandler has been named the 2012 Defensive Player of the Year and made the 2013 All-Star team. Imagine if he learns to catch, turn and shoot.