We should trade scola for splitter somehow. Future front court with Splitter, Dmo and Ppat would be nice. I'm also curious to see how Llull will work out.
Mr. Wall of Text, Patterson is not a shot blocker. I couldn't read any further in your wall of text after you stated Patterson was a shot blocker. He has blocked 49 shots in his 78 games. He is not a shot blocket. Stop saying he is a shot blocker.
Patterson is nothing more than a good rotation player. His absolute highest ceiling is David West, which means 3rd option on a title contender. He is capable of great rotation defense but his rebounding needs to improve a great deal. The KG and Dirk comparisons were awful. KG and dirk made huge jumps in competition and had a lot of filling out to do, not to mention they are both 7 footers, or close to it. PPat came from the highest non NBA level of competition, and has a grown man body with average size. His game has some growing still, but i haven;'t seen anything that remotely suggests star potential yet.
Personally, I see Patterson developing a Paul Millsap type of game. Which would be great off the bench in a six man role. With that said, the guy I see as our future starting PF is this guy... Spoiler
Well I thought that's what clutchfans is for. Adding insight, opinions, and ideas for the Rockets. Stats don't mean everything, he has blocked some meaningful shots by Melo and Griffin which takes away their spirit.
In all honesty I'd love to see Scola come off the bench. Patterson has such great rebounding ability and mid-range shooting ability that he can play with the first unit. Scola would fit in nicely with the Bench and would get needed rest. Pat's Post footwork has really surprised me because his moves are so crisp and well timed for a young player. Those post moves will pay off eventually and when they do he will be damn good.
Yes, he has. He is playing hard and is moving his way up. He is our best 2-way big BY A MILE. He may not be a shot-blocker per se but he plays great position D, moves his feet, and he gets in prime position to defend and block shots occasionally as the opponent trys to throw up something. That combined with the fact that he has a good jump shot that is nails and he actually has post moves (did you see the lil' Hakeem fake last night?) and is developing more post moves makes him a very solid up and comer.
I'm not ready to say that Pat is our PF of the future any more than Carl Landry was. Pat will be a good player in this league, and I think he's capable of starting on the right team. But he's still got some pretty big holes in his game. I question whether or not he'll ever be a banger; I question if he will ever develop into a great post player. That said, he has a lot of upside. He has the talent and athleticism to give other PF fits. I like his defensive intensity. I like the fact that he's got a nice outside shot. I'd like to see him mix it up down low a lot more. If he can develop that part of his game, he'll be an important part of our future, but so far, I haven't seen evidence of improvement in that regard.
His jumper is getting almost automatic again after the surgery. Like his defense also. Comparing him to Dirk and KG is interesting but certainly not predictive of similar results. I'd like to see where he (PPat) ranks in comparison to a much larger data set of guys at his position for those years.
He doesn't have anything in common with Dirk but he has plenty in common with KG, he's just not the physical specimen that KG is/was.
just a couple thoughts. Cons: Rebounding I have seen PatPat mentioned as a good rebounder by a couple of posters, but I just don't see it watching the games. Against longer opponents he has trouble coming down clean with the rebound and ussually has to resort to tipping it. He is a great hustler, but a bit undersized, and doesn't always get great box out position. Defending the Paint Once again, he is a bit undersized and a little light in the pants (i.e, not a space eater). To be honest, by positioning him as the primary paint defender you are taking him away from his defensive strengths to begin with (to be discussed). Face up/Post Offense To truly become an elite PF this is the area of his game I think needs the most polish. He has plus quickness and a jumper that demands respect, so I think the skillset is there to be cultivated. All great offensive players are able to develop a series of counter moves over time. I have seen some improvement in his post game, but would like to see him hold on to the ball in more face up opportunities on the elbow. Pros: Post/PnR Defense Pat is developing into a lights out man defender. His PnR defense is top notch and to me a thing of beauty. This is the guy I want chasing around PGs and trapping on the perimeter, and manning the other teams top big man. Spot up J Dude has been money from the elbow since day 1, and it's probably the reason people have such high hopes for him.
Scola and Landry have benn pretty money from there as well but Pat has the tools to play defense, which is why I'm high on him.
Agreed. Anyway I think he has enough size to be an effective rebounder and 1on1 defender if he gains experience and defensive technique.
I'm seeing a lot of promise in Pat's post game. He's developing a repertoire of quick, simple moves, and seems to be able to hit efficiently with both that baby hook (off some simple pivot fakes) and short range fadeaway jumper. If he keeps it up he should eventually be able to draw help defense and open things up for a kick out to the perimeter. I doubt he will ever be a dominant post player who can score regularly against double teams, but adding any kind of post game will make him a great second or third option. Last year, Pat was rebounding at a rate of 8.3 per 36 minutes. I think he can get back to that level and go above it. He won't be an elite level rebounder but I think he can be solid at around 9 rebounds per 36. I also think his paint defense is better than he's being given credit for. He doesn't have elite length but he is strong and has good hops. Won't be a big time shotblocker but he brings more to the table than we've had from the power forward position in awhile.
Thanks for the input everyone. For those saying the comparison to kg and dirk don't work, I wasn't really comparing their game as much as I was saying that they were two great players who turned into superstars and pat has had similar numbers as them early on. Once he figures his post game out, he will be a lot better than some think. Right now he is basically limited to jumpers but once he can take people on the post, he will demand double teams. Either way, he is playing just as good if not better than scola now so we should try to open space
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