The bottome line is that Patterson has so many well documented deficiencies, that most fans know you can't contend with a guy like him starting without huge upgrades at other positions.
Well we really need a back up PG, and I really like what Bledsoe brings to the table, both offensively and defensively. He's a good two way player, with potential to get better. Who said he would go straight to the clippers?! My god, have ever heard of a multiple team trade?? SMDH.
Bledsoe is great defensively but his offense leaves a lot to be desired. In the sense that he hasn't proven that he can run a team. But I do agree as a back up PG he would be ideal. You are right he is young & can get better. There seems to be a lot of hype around Bledsoe but I don't understand it his half court offense is poor.
for people with an untrained eye like yourself maybe.. I aggressively debated anyone after the Asik signing that it was a steal and bet my brother money he would eat his words. Needless to say I won, people have to do research before opening their traps.
ppat is a good player, he had a bad sophomore year. if you need a guy shooting the open 15 fter, thats your man. he hits it with so much precision and always has, his rookie year at one time he was shooting over 75% i believe. i remember adelman gave a bunch of praise to patterson his rookie year and said he always trusted pat with knowing the plays. adelman let pat into the rotation pretty quickly, which tells me something. hes got strong hands, but i think asik gobbles anything around the rim. i think he needs to work on his offence in the post, but he is a great complimentary player to asik. they are both opposites, and it works.
I do not understand the thinking about upgrading PPat for LaMarcus Aldridge at all. LMA is a great player. There is no question about that. But a cost/benefit evaluation demonstrates the difference between the two players does not warrant the increase in salary allocation. Qualitatively, I realize statistics do not tell the whole tale. However, they do tell us some things and they are not to be discounted in any evaluation. Aldridge is more experienced as a player, his name has a much higher cachet, he is likely a better leader on the floor and in the locker room. He would command more defensive attention, thereby opening up others offensively. But Patterson is much newer to the game and he does have unrealized potential due to his lack of experience. They both have good Basketball IQ. Patterson has only recently recovered from a pretty extensive leg injury that hampered his play and explosiveness. Quantitatively, before we look at the numbers it should be stated Aldridge is the #1 or #2 option on his team, one with much fewer scoring threats. Patterson is the #4 or #5 option on his team. Aldridge earns $11,244,000 (2012), $12,372,000 (2013), and $13,500,000 (2014) for $37,116,000 total over three years. Patterson earns $2,096,760 (2012), $3,105,301 (2013), and $4,319,000 (2014) for $9,521,524 over three years. Simply put, Aldridge costs $27,594,476 more over three years (more than $9,000,000 more per year). Now for the statistics. I am using their averages over the last 14 days. Admittedly, that may be a biased selection and a small sample size, but it is not much more biased than those who compare the two over very different careers. Further, the Rockets are just now learning to play together. Regardless, take a look: Aldridge 37.3 minutes per game Patterson 30.8 minutes per game Aldridge .458 FG% Patterson .545 FG% Aldridge .722 FT% Patterson .800 FT% Aldridge 0.0 3PT Patterson 1.1 3PT Aldridge 19.4 PTS Patterson 18.9 PTS Aldridge 2.4 OREB Patterson 1.9 OREB Aldridge 8.6 REB Patterson 5.7 REB Aldridge 1.0 AST Patterson 0.9 AST Aldridge 0.9 STL Patterson 0.7 STL Aldridge 0.6 BLK Patterson 0.9 BLK Aldridge 2.4 TO Patterson 1.1 TO Every fan has a right to their own opinion, of course. And as I mentioned previously, stats provide only a piece of the picture. I am a Rockets fan, not a Patterson-only-fan, but he deserves the opportunity to see if he can continue to deliver these numbers and, if he can, we fans should get off his back and support him.
Soupman doesn't post much, but when he does, people listen. He's the EF Hutton of ClutchFans. But seriously, I couldn't agree more.
For the short term, he will do. Honestly, at this point, there is not a 4 available that will make us a much better team. Patterson is playing really well now and although his shortcomings are real pet peeves of mine (not closing out on rebounds, going soft to the basket, etc), I still think he is a great option for the mean time. I really hope Patterson turns into a beast down low but at this point, I see him as a solid 6th man.
Interesting article from the Chronicle. What really caught my eye was this: Kelvin Sampson: "I think [Patterson] feels now he’s part of the offense. A couple weeks ago . Pat made the comment, ‘It seems the only time I touch the ball is if I get a rebound.’ Sometimes you hear him. Sometimes you listen to him.” I also remember comments from both McHale and Sampson that the ball was 'sticky' because the team didn't trust each other yet... So I'm wondering if Patterson was/is a case of not getting enough touches meaning he's out-of-focus on the defensive end. Only time will tell, but these recent games where Patterson's been getting more involved in the offense is hopeful. To be honest I was one of the people thinking that Patterson should be traded, but more and more I just want the Rockets team to just sit on all their guys and continue developing everyone. Hell, I think there's a good chance that the Rockets might already have their Stars and All-Stars on their roster already, they just need more experience. And I do NOT want Patterson to be traded and suddenly break out in Patsanity.
The specific reasons for that comment is because in this thread it's shown that Patterson is only a little bit better than LMA and for the past 6 games he's inching his way towards Millsap numbers. What's to say that he can't sustain this growth and improvement? Give the guy some time.:grin:
Good post. In a way, Patterson is the poor man's Aldridge. Like I have said elsewhere, Patterson fits well with the starting lineup. His one glaring weakness, rebounding, is not our greatest concern given all the other four guys are good to great rebounders. His strengths, on the other hand, compliment very well. We have two very good playmakers, and Parsons is pretty good too. All we need the PF to do on offense is to knock down the open shot, which Patterson is very good at. He is also the only reliable midrange shooter, filling the void very well. His defense is fine. What I want to see him do better is his post game. He has improved from last season, but could be better.