Q12543 wrote:Long, The blocks were nice, but it's so much different than the NBA that it is really hard to discern his defensive potential from watching these G-league games. He seems to have a similar problem as Dieng and KAT, in that he isn't really strong in the core/trunk muscles, making him a little soft and top heavy. We've seen what a huge deal this is in defending the paint. Often holding your ground and walling up is far better defense than chasing blocks, trying to draw charges, and generally getting toppled out of position easily. Heck, just witness the way Taj stays solid versus KAT. Such a contrast....
You are right, Q. I'm getting a chuckle out of the beginning of Patton-mania coupled with Gorgui fatigue on this Board. It's worth noting that Patton was not much of a defender or rebounder in his one college season. His only calling card statistically was his high shooting percentage.
As for shot-blocking, it should be noted that Patton blocked 1.4 shots in 25 minutes per game. In his first year at Louisville, Gorgui averaged 1.9 blocks in only 15 minutes per game. Both players have the exact same 9'3.5" overhead reach and Gogui has a half inch wider wingspan than Patton.
I'm also a bit perplexed by descriptions of Patton as a good athlete. He seems to have very good hands and he seems reasonably fast for a big guy in a straight-line sprint from end to end. But he doesn't look particularly quick laterally or bouncy off the floor. In fact, his combine numbers suggest he's not a very athletic player. His standing vertical was only 26" and his max vertical only 30.5". His agility score wasn't impressive either.
He has good, but not great length, good hands and what appears to be an accurate shot-range shot. He also seems to have pretty good pick-and-roll instincts. But he's not a super long, not a particularly good athlete and not physically strong. Most troublesome of all are his pedestrian big-man stats in college - 1.4 blocks and 6 rebounds in 25 minutes. I'm hoping for the best from Patton, but as most on this board know, I think there were better choices for Thibs.
I consider the Patton pick to be part of Thibs mediocrity as PBO. He hasn't been a bad PBO, but he hasn't done anything special. The Butler trade was a good one, but it didn't take much ingenuity or savvy to pull it off. The Bulls obviously wanted to trade Butler and the Celtics along with other potential suitors had their sights elsewhere. The Gibson signing has turned out to be a good one for the Wolves, but Thibs had to fork over a lot of money to sign him. I think Thibs overpaid for Teague. We would have been just as well off with D. Collision for $9 million less per year.
I do like that we got a first round pick for Ricky and I like that Thibs resisted the temptation to trade that pick for CJ Miles even though I'd like to have Miles on this team. Moreover, I don't consider Patton a terrible pick. So I clearly don't see Thibs as a bad or failed PBO. He just hasn't done anything special that would put him among the really good ones. He hasn't come up with an undrafted gem like Covington for example. Hopefully, Thibs will do something brilliant before next season. Actually, the smartest thing he could do as PBO would be to replace himself as our head coach. :)
Sorry this morphed into a criticique of Thibs as PBO. Back to Patton, I'll say I'm hopeful but not excited at this point. But who knows. Maybe the Patton pick will turn out to be that brilliant move that puts Thibs among the elite PBOs.
