Five takeaways from the Thunder’s blowout win in Milwaukee
By Tony Heim
The Patrick Patterson we were waiting for is here
It appears that the Thunder are finally fully healthy. Although he hasn’t been on the injury report since the regular season began, Patrick Patterson wasn’t 100% to start the season. The 28-year old missed all of the preseason and most contact-drills in training camp, leaving him with no on-court action prior to the season. And it showed.
Patterson, the highly touted stretch power forward, started the season 2-14 from deep. His minutes hovered anywhere from 7 to 19 minutes as Billy Donovan slowly worked his sixth man back into game shape/the rotation. Last night was Patterson’s first game with 20+ minutes – in that time he thrived.
The former Raptor hit both of his three-point attempts, including a shot that hit less rim than the average Alex Abrines three:
Patterson is going to get that corner three – his favorite spot – all season long. Jerami Grant and Josh Huestis can hit the shot, but neither have proven themselves over a 7+ season career like Patterson. His added defense makes him a viable candidate to play in some crunch-time lineups depending on the matchup.
That’s truly where Patterson shined last night. The Kentucky product doesn’t create many turnovers, instead being the reliable defender that limits his mistakes on that end. He doesn’t gamble like Grant or Huestis, opting to stay on his feet and face-guard his man at all times. Raymond Felton needed Patterson’s exact skillset/veteran presence in the frontcourt to stabilize the Thunder second-unit and that’s what we saw on Tuesday.
Now that he’s able to play 24 effective minutes again (his season average last season), expect to see this Patrick Patterson from now on and not the rusty one we saw in games one-six.