Should Patterson come off the bench after he returns?

That 50% FG will definitely come down, but if it can hover between 46-48%, I think that would be perfect. Morris does take more threes than Patterson, so a lower FG would be expected. I love Mook and I'm glad he is making me eat crow.

 

He has had quite a few issues with his feet... But he's not 7'6" 300lbs so hopefully it doesn't keep him from succeeding

 

Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry wish they could say the Rockets organization believed the same thing.

But honestly, I doubt that the coaches won't go back to Patterson as the starter. Morris has been good but not that much better then Patterson other then a few of the smaller things like a few more hustle plays and not having to take 10+ shots a game to score points.

 

If I were to guess, Pat has started his last game as a Rocket.

On the surface Morris may be playing only slightly better, but as far as team synergy it is night and day replacing Pat with him. Morris is aggressive and attacks when he gets the ball, instead of hesitating. He is also actually a real threat from 3, a big difference from simply having the ability to shoot 3s occasionally.

In the last 4 games as a starter, he is averaging 15.5 points, 2.25 3PT made on 64% 3PT shooting. Without a single play being ran for him.

This is the difference between him this year and last. He has learned how to play OFF of stars, as opposed to forcing himself to be one. His current play pressures opposing defenses to adjust. Meanwhile Pat isn't even on a scouting report. Not only does that make Morris a matchup nightmare, alongside penetrators like Harden/Lin it makes our entire offense a matchup nightmare.

If the coaching staff can continue to come up with defensive schemes to hide him like they did against Memphis, he will remain in the starting lineup because he makes our offense far too dangerous.

It is a shame for Pat to lose his spot due to injury. But lets get real, he never had it locked down anyways. Before the season Morey on twitter mention 4 starters penciled in, with the starting PF spot up for grabs. In reality, Morris is a rookie this year. He needed to pay his dues first by not playing at all last year, then coming off the bench this year.

Now is his time, and he should be the starter going forward unless we trade for a star.

 

PPat put in some good 20 Pt performances.
I think his offensive contribution would be great coming off the bench.
I don't think it is a downgrade at all. We need more offensive oriented player to score in the 2nd unit.

 

I was very impressed that Morris out-scored Zach Randolph. I think the starting job is his to lose now. Especially, if the Rockets keep winning.

 

Seems the Clutchfans hivemind has selected Patrick Patterson as the player they want to demonize this year. Other than being a better three point shooter, Morris has been equal or worse across the board.

Code:

Rk              Player From   To   G   MP  PER  TS% eFG% ORB% DRB% TRB% AST% STL% BLK% TOV% USG% ORtg DRtg OWS DWS  WS WS/48
1        Marcus Morris 2012 2013  42  671 11.9 .518 .494  6.4 13.7 10.1  5.5  1.1  1.5  9.3 18.3  105  108 0.6 0.5 1.0  .075
2    Patrick Patterson 2011 2013 137 2971 13.7 .508 .491  8.9 13.7 11.3  6.8  1.0  2.2  9.1 17.8  106  108 2.9 2.2 5.2  .084

It used to be low rebounding numbers people would attack Patterson for, but worse rebounding for Morris doesn't seem to be an issue for those who want lineup changes. Morris pulled down one rebound in 31 minutes against the Grizzlies....one. I can't even imagine the outcry if Patterson had done that.

I like Marcus Morris, he is a good versatile offensive player who can find a way to get a decent shot off. A skill he should utilize off the bench when Harden or Lin are resting. Patterson is much better suited in the starting lineup as a utility guy where he can focus on defense/rotations and cleanup and not worry about having to create offense.

What you probably don't notice about Patterson is that he doesn't make very many mistakes and that is valuable. I hate to burst the collective bubble, but I am pretty sure Pat is a favorite among the coaches because he does exactly what he is supposed to do.

I probably won't change anyone's opinion, because people see what they want to see, but hey, atleast I tried.

 

Signed,
Goran Dragic

 

I agree. Pump up the value and then ship him out if we get a good offer. For the record, I like ppatt and I think hes a good player. Smith is not better than him at this point, Morris might be right there though. I like what Morris brings to the team. He can create his own shot, gets out quick on the fast breaks and plays pretty good defense. If Morris keeps developing he would be a great 3/4 and maybe we should hold on to him. Teams will probably want Morris more than ppatt.

 

He should sit, he can't run as fast as the other Rockets. He'll slow down our hyper offense which is killing all teams. Even Marc Gasol had to pull a delay of game on us. LOL.

 

He needs to be send to dleague. Make sure he comes back nice and healthy

 

jim harbaugh disagrees....just sayin.

 

Morris has been playing good but man he has some tough match ups coming up and thats where having Patterson would help

 

Small sample size...but we are winning big with Morris in the starting lineup.

I think he should stay in the starting lineup, but Patterson is quality depth. It's a good problem to have.

 

A player doesn't lose his position because he was injured. He loses it because he is out played. A players position is always a battle in the NBA. Coaches are very slow to promote a player to starter as it means demoting a guy. Coaches only demote a guy when it is clear that the other player is the better player for the team.

Patterson won the position in training camp while Morris was injured. Looking at the data the Rockets have now, it appears Morris is the better fit with the starting lineup. With Patterson out another 2 weeks, the Rockets should have enough information on who is better.

I suspect Morris will have firmly proved he is the better player than Patterson for the Rockets. Smith has already proven he is the better center and Patterson has lost all his center minutes to him.

 

Not for the marginal players. Also, tell harbaugh that.