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.
I also want to say, and I have to remind myself this also. He is still not cleared to play in a NBA game and is still on a minutes restriction. So he is still not 100%. I am not worried about the motor because that was one of the things he was good at in college. His per 36 reb numbers are better than Taj numbers and I know totally different competition, but he just can't be a bad rebounder because we have one of the best nba rebounders besides him in Towns.
We will see what happens. In theory it is what you want by Towns, a big that is mobile, can hit 3s, block shots and a good passer. Now will those skills translate to the NBA, we will find out.
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?
Yes, I have. And I suspect that Q has also. My sample size is limited to two games and some highlights, but my observations are essentially the same as Q's from my limited sample size. Great skills and court awareness, but not much of a rebounder and not the sort of toughness and motor I'd like to see. But again, it's hard to assess motor and toughness in such a limited sample. I just come back to his college stats, which include pretty pedestrian rebounding numbers for someone with his length. The good news is that I haven't found any college scouting reports questioning his motor. Combine that with the fact that Thibs picked Patton and has praised his motor gives me some comfort that he doesn't really any motor issues. Sometimes what looks like a lack of motor or competitive zeal can just be a reflection of style or a young player still finding his way. My main concern remains Patton's rebounding, which I suspect will remain mediocre based on his college numbers. But as Q pointed out, that won't be a big problem if Patton's impressive skill set translates to the NBA. Would I have preferred Collins or Kuzma? Yes. But Patton could still end up being as good or better than both.
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?
Yes, I have. And I suspect that Q has also. My sample size is limited to two games and some highlights, but my observations are essentially the same as Q's from my limited sample size. Great skills and court awareness, but not much of a rebounder and not the sort of toughness and motor I'd like to see. But again, it's hard to assess motor and toughness in such a limited sample. I just come back to his college stats, which include pretty pedestrian rebounding numbers for someone with his length. The good news is that I haven't found any college scouting reports questioning his motor. Combine that with the fact that Thibs picked Patton and has praised his motor gives me some comfort that he doesn't really any motor issues. Sometimes what looks like a lack of motor or competitive zeal can just be a reflection of style or a young player still finding his way. My main concern remains Patton's rebounding, which I suspect will remain mediocre based on his college numbers. But as Q pointed out, that won't be a big problem if Patton's impressive skill set translates to the NBA. Would I have preferred Collins or Kuzma? Yes. But Patton could still end up being as good or better than both.
Good to see you have seen a couple games. I haven't watched for a while I haven't had as much time but I need to watch a game this week at some point. Maybe I'll get in a few games at the airport this week.
I liked this breakdown of your thoughts.
You keep going back to those college stats. I've mentioned this before but what about our guy John Collins freshman year stats? His rebounding per game wasn't that much better than Patton and he never hit a 3 in college. What kind of numbers would Patton have put up this year for Crieghton if he had stayed another year and been healthy? Collins was and is young but Patton was also a raw guy even if he did redshirt. He is not your typical 1 and done guy. I'm not suggesting throw out the rebounding stats but I think there is some reasonnto not be too beholden to them as well.
One guy that doesn't get brought up much when speaking of young guys we could have picked instead of Patton is LST's guy Jarrett Allen. He is putting up some pretty solid numbers and when I have seen him play the last couple months he looks pretty good for a rookie. Honestly so think he is farther along than what is expected. I thought his feel for the game was gonna be a bit of a problem. He is another one of these long athletic complementary bigs that looks like he has a jumper that can evolve also. He looks like a guy that can probably play with a center at least a decent chunk of minutes. Check out his February numbers.
Patton has a higher ceiling than any big in last year's draft not named Lauri Markkenan or Kyle Kuzma. I think John Collins, Jarrett Lee, Zach Collins, Jordan Bell, and Bam Adebayo will likely have decent careers and you wouldn't be wrong for liking them a lot, but the three that I named are so skilled it's just not fair. They have potential to be legitimate building blocks instead of role players or supporting cast members.
Just watched the last 6 or 7 minutes of the Iowa team in a close game. I haven't checked them out in a while. It's not a stretch to say that Patton basically lost the game for them. Between getting burned on switches by smaller players blowing by him and missed free throws/shots offensively, he was awful. Defensively, he's very reach-y for a big man and gets himself out of position as a result. He's got a looooooong ways to go IMO.
