Patrick was a career 58.5 FG% shooter with 16.1 PPG in three years of college ball and almost 56% in his rookie season. What has changed about his game to drop his FG (now under 44% and shooting 37% through 9 games in April) so drastically? Shot selection - Possibly through McHale's influence, Patterson has forced action in the post, trying to get that short jump hook. He isn't strong enough to move bigger defenders when we are playing the two PF lineup w/ no center. He also seems to rush his shots when the opposing team has a true center on the floor / in the middle of the paint. His jump hook was there last season and is listed as a strength on DraftExpress so it's a skill that he has proven in college but has become broken in his second year. Teams sometimes send a second defender and he rushes his shot when there are multiple players in the paint. Before looking to pass in the post, he also catches the ball looking to shoot immediately. Coaching change / Lineups - Because he's a backup, he sees the least time with a true big as I mentioned before. Camby and Dalembert need to be making their 15 footers in order to unclog the paint, and Dalembert's performance in this regard has steeply dropped off in the 2nd half of the season. I disagree with a lot of our small-ball lineups simply because we become even more of a jump shooting team, or we end up with a very poor quality possession where Scola turns the ball over or Patterson forces a shot. In recent games Patterson has seen most of his time on the floor next to Scola. Confidence - His jump shot has served him extremely well up to this point in his career but it is falling less as of late because he is rushing shots due to failing in previous pressure spots. I like that he has the gusto to take the post up shots we've been trying to set him up for, but again the lack of practice time has killed any chance of fixing his shots. He is not setting his feet and squaring up to the basket like he did last season. Honestly nothing defenders did last season seemed to phase him, while this season he seems surprised when the ball even goes in the basket. Shortened season and offseason surgery - The coaching staff insists on using Patterson in sets where he does not appear entirely comfortable. This wouldn't be the case if he had time to refine his skill set in scrimmages. The surgery has left him a step slower on defense and he may be struggling to keep up the pace with so little rest between games. As many posters have noted he even struggles to dunk as frequently as he did last season. He got position closer to the basket when he was at full health and converted much more frequently. More time to practice this offseason with the coaching staff would improve his decision making on this end. ClutchFans, please keep this season in context. I think he is a strong prospect and last season nearly every NBA pundit agreed that he was one of the most likely players to have a long NBA career. He has been an extremely efficient player, outside of this condensed season. I personally hope we are able to move Martin and Scola this offseason to become a younger team.
He plays much smaller than his size. If McHale is helping him work on his post game as reported he's hurt his game more than helped. Funny Landry didn't need to curl up his jersey because of his huge shoulders but he was beast in the paint.
I believe it's confidence, especially in the post. He rushes his shots. That's the sure sign of lack of confidence. The confidence issue is affecting his jump shot, which was money last season. I don't know why he lost his confidence. Is it the injury? Is it the coaching change? He's not the same player he was a year ago. Even his interviews look subdued. I remember last year, he was beaming with enthusiasm to learn the game. Now he seems to just give canned answers.
Ppat has had an up and down season just like everybody else on this team oh yeah he is only 23. So yeah he must not have room to grow and has reached his peak
At this stage, with Camby out, I'd rather see Greg Smith get the backup minutes at center than Patterson. Having Scola and Patterson on the floor at the same time becomes a layup drill. We need to have rim protection at all times. Limit Patterson to 18 minutes per game as Scola's backup. Give Dalembert 35 minutes per game until Camby gets back, and give 13 minutes per game to Smith.
He looks like a power forward but plays like scalabrine. Not the same patrick from last year. Hope he returns.
Carl Landry was and IS an equally POOR rebounder for his position, and worse defender than Patterson But Landry was SO good on putting that ball through the rim. (Landry is the all time Rockets LEADER in FG%). One thing Landry never lacked was confidence and "swag". I see NONE of that in Patterson's game. And yes Patterson right now is outside his element in trying to be a low post offensive player. He had the one flash in the pan game against the Clippers and Blake Griffin being the go-to man down the stretch. I knew it was a false sense of confidence to keep going to that. Still, Patterson just doesnt have ANYTHING going good for him now.
I want to see him with an offseason to fully recover from that surgery. He may not be all-star potential, but I think he'll be a really solid player which is what you expect in a 6-9 range pick and hope for in an 10-14 range pick. Marcus Morris on the other hand...
I thought this the other night. What is the status on Smith? Do we have him signed? Is he active for tonight's game?
realize Camby is hurt, but i would have liked to see Pat on the floor more w/ MC, Pat in the high post. i'd also be intrigued by a front line of Parsons, Morris, Camby, with Morris/Parsons alternating SF/PF depending on matchups.
The guy is in the d-league again right? Figured we would've brought him in but I guess tanking is easier with Patterson than a true center.
Forget the stats, look at him out there. He is an undersized PF with exaggerated athleticism and no real "touch" around the rim.
Landry is a way way more polished scorer. He's much better finisher around the rim, and has more consistent post moves. The thing that was holding Landry back was being outsized, and short arms
the problem is, even if his shots are falling, he's still just a jump shooting "big" man, which is very disappointing.
Lot of hate so I'll chime in: Still the best pick and roll defender on the team. Had a beastly season last year, makes me think that McHale is not utilizing his offensive strengths in an ideal manner. He is still only a sophomore, where the players usually take a "final" step forward between thier 2nd and 3rd year. I wouldn't be surprised to see him come back with a refined post game next season. IMHO a solid post game, a dead eye jumper and great defense is a solid player.
