lipoli390 wrote:I just noticed that in the Iowa Wolves last game Patton had 1 rebound in 24 minutes. Yes, that's 1 rebound. In the G-League!! Truly pathetic! Rebounding is probably the best single measure of a player's competitive fire. That's true at any position (witness Westbrook or even Rubio) but especially for a big man. I've always been troubled by Patton's pedestrian 6 rebounds per game in college given his length relatively to other players at the college level. A 1 rebound game in over 20 minutes of play is totally unacceptable and troubling for any big man at any level, but it's especially troubling at the G-League level for someone with Patton's length.
He still averages five rebounds per game in about 20 minutes a night -- or about nine per 36. That's about right. Not great, but decent. That one rebound game looks pretty ugly, but I'm not all that bothered by it. He's been good down there from all things I've seen.
lipoli390 wrote:I just noticed that in the Iowa Wolves last game Patton had 1 rebound in 24 minutes. Yes, that's 1 rebound. In the G-League!! Truly pathetic! Rebounding is probably the best single measure of a player's competitive fire. That's true at any position (witness Westbrook or even Rubio) but especially for a big man. I've always been troubled by Patton's pedestrian 6 rebounds per game in college given his length relatively to other players at the college level. A 1 rebound game in over 20 minutes of play is totally unacceptable and troubling for any big man at any level, but it's especially troubling at the G-League level for someone with Patton's length.
He still averages five rebounds per game in about 20 minutes a night -- or about nine per 36. That's about right. Not great, but decent. That one rebound game looks pretty ugly, but I'm not all that bothered by it. He's been good down there from all things I've seen.
Yep, probably better to take a more comprehensive view. I didn't see the game, but it would seem that someone with Patton's length would have to run from the ball to end up with only 1 rebound in the G-League. :). It makes me think of Q's observation that Patton seems at times to have motor issues.
Justin Patton is an impressive young player. I've gone back to watch some full games of him and he's a very skilled offensive talent despite not being completely refined. Also, he is a gifted passer. I think that aspect of his game is my favorite. Defensively, he shows enough glimpses to where you envision him being a "switch everything" type big while using his length to be a nuisance in the paint. Not a great athlete, but he's light on his feet and shows good mobility. He gets moved around at times, but he's only 230 lbs right now and it's not all muscle. I'd think he could lose some of that bad weight and get stronger. Wouldn't want him above 240, though.
In 26 GP, he's averaging -- Per 36 -- 21.2 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.6 SPG, 2.4 BPG while shooting 51.6% from the field, 45.5% from 3P, and 80.8% from the line.
I get that it's just G-League, but he's stuffing the stat sheet in all categories and doing it with commendable efficiency. At the least, you should be excited about this young man. He very well could turn out to be a special player.
We need the dude to be a great defender, bottom line. Even if he turns out to be a great offensive player, if he's not a good defender, he just exacerbates the problem we already have.
We have the 30th ranked defense in recent weeks, and a fair amount of that is on Towns, and there's no way Patton can possibly be as good offensively as Towns (right?). We NEED that guy to become a great defender. I'm really pulling for that.
SameOldNudityDrew wrote:We need the dude to be a great defender, bottom line. Even if he turns out to be a great offensive player, if he's not a good defender, he just exacerbates the problem we already have.
We have the 30th ranked defense in recent weeks, and a fair amount of that is on Towns, and there's no way Patton can possibly be as good offensively as Towns (right?). We NEED that guy to become a great defender. I'm really pulling for that.
Yeah, the hope would obviously be that Towns AND Patton become good defenders that can actually play with each other. That's the ideal result. But let's say Patton's offensive ability translates and maybe even progresses to a diet version of Towns, or even Porzingis. It'd be hard to be upset with having a team with two unicorns in the front court. Replace Gibson with that player in this hypothetical scenario and we'd probably average 115 points nightly and just try to overwhelm opponents with buckets.
We just need Patton to be a decent player and hope that the skill he's showing in the G-League can translate.
There's only a handful of seven-footers in the NBA that can make some of the plays Patton is capable of. Check this compilation out when you guys get a chance. I know it's G-League, but that doesn't make the passes any less impressive, or the handle less impressive, or the jumper less wet. [youtube]aQ1hRg5pMO0[/youtube]
Camden, Monster and I have been going back and forth on Patton for a few months now! Welcome to the viewing party...
My problem with him is he's soft and he lacks a consistent motor. May be he'll be like a modern day Sam Perkins or someone of that ilk. He is very skilled, no doubt, and may be his skills ultimately win the day.
Q12543 wrote:Camden, Monster and I have been going back and forth on Patton for a few months now! Welcome to the viewing party...
My problem with him is he's soft and he lacks a consistent motor. May be he'll be like a modern day Sam Perkins or someone of that ilk. He is very skilled, no doubt, and may be his skills ultimately win the day.
I agree with Q. I can't understand why Thibs drafted Patton. He doesn't seem like a Thibs kind of player. But then again, I was surprised Thibs paid all that money to Teague -- another player who's not known for toughness or defense. Note, I'm not saying I can't understand why Patton would be drafted with the pick we got from the Bulls. I definitely see the skills as well as his length. I'm just surprised that Thibs of all people drafted him. So maybe Patton has a toughness and motor that we just haven't noticed. Unfortunately, my sense is that a seven footer who doesn't rebound well in college has toughness or motor issues. So I'm not surprised by Q's assessment of Patton's G-League tenure so far.
Q12543 wrote:Camden, Monster and I have been going back and forth on Patton for a few months now! Welcome to the viewing party...
My problem with him is he's soft and he lacks a consistent motor. May be he'll be like a modern day Sam Perkins or someone of that ilk. He is very skilled, no doubt, and may be his skills ultimately win the day.
I agree with Q. I can't understand why Thibs drafted Patton. He doesn't seem like a Thibs kind of player. But then again, I was surprised Thibs paid all that money to Teague -- another player who's not known for toughness or defense. Note, I'm not saying I can't understand why Patton would be drafted with the pick we got from the Bulls. I definitely see the skills as well as his length. I'm just surprised that Thibs of all people drafted him. So maybe Patton has a toughness and motor that we just haven't noticed. Unfortunately, my sense is that a seven footer who doesn't rebound well in college has toughness or motor issues. So I'm not surprised by Q's assessment of Patton's G-League tenure so far.
Lip have you watched an Iowa Wolves game this year?
Q12543 wrote:Camden, Monster and I have been going back and forth on Patton for a few months now! Welcome to the viewing party...
My problem with him is he's soft and he lacks a consistent motor. May be he'll be like a modern day Sam Perkins or someone of that ilk. He is very skilled, no doubt, and may be his skills ultimately win the day.
I agree with Q. I can't understand why Thibs drafted Patton. He doesn't seem like a Thibs kind of player. But then again, I was surprised Thibs paid all that money to Teague -- another player who's not known for toughness or defense. Note, I'm not saying I can't understand why Patton would be drafted with the pick we got from the Bulls. I definitely see the skills as well as his length. I'm just surprised that Thibs of all people drafted him. So maybe Patton has a toughness and motor that we just haven't noticed. Unfortunately, my sense is that a seven footer who doesn't rebound well in college has toughness or motor issues. So I'm not surprised by Q's assessment of Patton's G-League tenure so far.
I'm not ready to call it a bad pick yet. I always thought LaMarcus Aldridge played soft, but ultimately he's made up for that with skills. Heck, I look at Wiggins. If he were making 40% of his three's and 80% of his free throws, we'd probably be able to live with his inconsistent motor.
The question is whether the skills Patton is flashing in the G-league can ultimately translate to the NBA and will they be good enough to overcome his softness. If you don't get to the line or rebound much, you gotta make up for it in other ways as a big man.
