Press conference, Kelvin Sampson on Patterson : Its as matter-of-fact as you can get. I'm sure McHale has said the same thing before, just more rambly. But it does show the coaching sees what we see. Tonight, Patterson 16 minutes, 2 rebounds Terrence Jones in - 12 minutes ZERO rebounds Inconclusive result. If Sampson had his way he'd probably explore other options. But it shows that Patterson needs to start being a stronger presense regardless. He has the physical tools and demeanor to want to mold into a banger, but his development just might not be more than a decent position defender, decent jump shooting steady role player, part-time starter 1st big off bench type
There is just no question in my mind that Terrence will be a superior rebounder than Pat and a superior player all together. Pat is solid on defense as far as being in the right position, playing the pick and role and challenging shots but rebounding is part of defense. I think TJ will have a much bigger effect on defense with his size (250 lbs), athleticism, rebounding, shot blocking ability etc... Plus, TJ does not seem like the kind of player that needs plays run for him to score points. I hope Kelvin Sampson continues to play TJ.
Yeah, I agree with that assessment. I hope he over comes the problem because he would be a much more effective player if rebounded more then most of our less experienced bigs, in the near future.
Don't forget the fact that Terrence actually got to the FT line. Patterson frustrates me he needs more competition at his position.
Your nuts if you think he's a starter! He's a reserve player. It's not unusual for him to get 4 rebs, he's a weak rebounder for a pf. He has no post game for a pf. I'm not seeing any improvement either.
I don't think he has the demeanor to do what we expect/want him to do. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there has ever been a player in the NBA that became a scrapper/rebounder/hustle man that wasn't one before they were drafted. There have been scarpers that develop a shot though. If Pat doesn't have it now, he will never get it; it's just not his personality sadly. He does have the tools to be one, but I think we have to realize Pat is who is: a 37 year old Mcdyess trapped in a 23 year old body.
Pat needs to be on the bench, or traded away. He's reached his ceiling, and holding back the development of our more talented rookies.
He is a solid backup if you have a rebounder in the game with him. I don't think he is a starter and I will be disappointed if he is the starter all season. I see why he starts right now but I think it is obvious that he isn't a quality starting power forward.
Absolutely. I think TJones shot himself in the foot tonight by taking some compulsive shots, but in the preseason he was poised and played incredibly well. If there ever was a time to play someone else at PF it was against the Grizzlies who were wreaking havoc inside. If their guards were smarter that game would have been a blowout by the 3rd quarter. PPat was getting destroyed and I think that caused the over-helping on defense which led to a lot of uncontested 3-pointers. Ppat has had some beast games for us, but he's not going to develop into anything that the Rockets will need at the PF position wheres Jones shows a lot of promise.
The problem is he's "a lover not a fighter." Following his twitter, that's the vibe i get from him. He doesn't have the mentality to be aggressive and physical, at least not constantly. He's got to think about doing it and that's not going to work over the long run.
2Pat takes way too much heat on the board, but I do have to admit that this just might not be the right team for him. Much like Jordan Hill with the Rockets, Pat would be a nice role playing big man on a contending team. You have to respect his jump shot, and his team defense is amazing. Super professional/locker room leader, and a coaches dream. Im just warning the board that even if Pat gets moved this season or next, he's going to be a very good player in the league for a long time. However for this current Houston team, they dont really need that many glue guys, they need a little bit of nasty irrational confidence guys.
