Not sure what @The Cat is getting at here? His biggest drop is that he hasn't been given the ball much. His usage rate has dropped, minutes, etc. His defense is still a positive for the Raptors and even though he's been used less and less he's still been a net positive for the Raptors on offense. He's a positive on both sides of the court that doesn't demand the ball. He's a good fit for the Thunder. He won't take shots OR rebounds from Westbrook His advanced numbers are better than PJ Tucker.
His PER has dropped off fairly noticeably, from the ~15 range for most of his career to below 11 the last two seasons. Not nearly as efficient, even adjusting for lower usage. The biggest factor is that he's becoming almost exclusively a 3-point specialist. Early in his career, he generally shot near 50% from the field — largely because the 3-pointer was a part of his offensive game, not the whole thing. He did have athleticism to finish somewhat well inside, etc. The last two years, he's at ~40% from the field, and literally 2/3 of his shots are from behind the arc. All that said, is he a quality player? Yes, and I'd have loved to have had him here. I think the PJ Tucker comparison is somewhat fair, though some of the defensive metrics like Tucker more (and Tucker has more versatility, given his ability to cover guards). Another difference is, the Rockets aren't asking Tucker to be a starter. Less minutes against weaker competition. Hoping Patrick Patterson can successfully jump into a potential 27-30 mpg starting role at PF in the Western Conference is an apples and oranges comparison relative to what Houston is asking Tucker to do. I like Patterson and think he's a tremendous value, but I also think he's one of those guys that's so underrated by the traditional community that he's also a bit overrated by the analytics guys. He's a good role player, but there are limits — and my hunch is that playing him as a day-in, day-out starting PF in the West is going to make those things he can't do stand out more.
Patterson turned the game around for the Thunders tonight. Thomas Robinson is playing for something called "Khimki."
Dwight came to Houston through these changes. It was a gamble that almost got us deep into the WC Finals, before Howard blew up. That wouldn't have happened with PP on the team. I did want Patrick as a backup to our current squad, but DM didn't have enough to make a trade.
he wouldn't replace ariza, tucker, luc, or green in our forward rotation. as a matter of fact i wouldn't move any of them for another role player. pat is very nice but we have equal-to-better pieces.
