I've been thinking Karl Malone, since Patterson showed his early flashes. Patterson's mid range jumper is just so consistent that it reminded me of Malone. Also, he's not really an above the rim player. Sure, he gets his dunks and what not, but his size to leaping ability doesn't really allow him to finish over other bigs that well. Can he become that mean, though? And, if he could do we want that? Knees and elbows flying on the drive? I'm torn myself.
Chuck Hayes defense. Patterson's got alot going for him offensively. If he can do what Chuck does defensively with his current offensive skills he would be an all star.
I don't know that this is who he should study per-se, but he kind of reminds me of a young Horace Grant when he was with the Bulls and Orlando. Grant was voted 4 times to the NBA all-defensive team. He probably could have scored more than he did on another team, and averaged 8-11 rebounds and 12-15 points for most of his first 11 years in the league and was an all star in 1994.
Carl Landry. Honestly, he doesn't need to observe any players. He is already a good defender who will get better and smarter the more he plays. He knows what he needs to do offensively to be better on that end.
Charles Oakley, Charles Oakley, Charles Oakley!!! If we're just talking about studying how a player played, there'd be no better role model. The guy set great picks, ALWAYS boxed out, could hit the midrange J and pass from the high post. Off the charts BBall IQ, Rodman-esque in that regard. He always knew where to be on D and O. Combine that with Patterson's motor and athleticism, you'd have a great player.
Edge isn't something you necessarily study and acquire out of the blue... Kenyon Martin's been a tenacious, high-energy player since his days at Cincy. That's just the type of dude he is. It's a natural quality...
Nice call, we can only hope...( Brand was so beastly & played with in himself to help his team but the teams were so bad it really never mattered much )
I feel like he's playing like Robert Horry a lot. But when you ask who should be the target to study, I like a Rodman type player in Houston. D, rebound, toughness, dirtiness and smartness are all the old school tools we need.
I was thinking the same thing. I think he has a complete skill set. His defensive ceiling might not be that high as Dwight Howard's, but he can have a better offensive game than him. His offensive ceiling might not be as high as Carlos Boozer, but he can have a better defensive game than him. (Rough comparisons) He should take bits of skills from every HOF's, but should not try to exceed a specific HOF. (But if he can, then... ) I will not be surprised if a couple of years from now, he will be able to shoot 3's. (Maybe 25-35%?) He's got a good stroke.
Dave DeBusschere would be awesome. He if could get his toughness and defensive mentality. Another great model would be Kevin McHale, who was also known as a very good shooter, and a very good defensive PF during the 80's. Honestly, I feel that if he continues to work on his game, he will have a similar arc. I know the 10 games is a relatively small sample size, but comparing their rookie seasons since Patterson has really played. Name G GS MP FG% FT% PTS ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF McHALE 82 1 20.1 53% 68% 10.0 1.9 2.5 4.4 0.7 0.3 1.8 1.3 3.2 PATTERSON 10 3 23.3 57% 83% 9.5 2.3 3.6 5.9 0.8 0.8 1.4 0.7 2.6 Of course, the key for Patterson is maintaining and then improving his level of play.
