OKC Thunder beyond the numbers: Patrick Patterson

Patrick Patterson’s dunks don’t always make the news, but they make an impact on the players and hype the team.

Patrick Patterson’s first career dunk with OKC Thunder didn’t seem to make as big of a splash in the recaps of the game as it did for the players. Which is why I’m here to talk about it. Noel received his first start with OKC that night, as well as an assist for Patterson’s first dunk.

The 6’9″ power forward has assumed a three-point shooting role for OKC, so his dunks this season may be proof that you can have your cake and eat it, too. After going 82 games last season without any slam-dunk action, PPat has put down four dunks just 34 games deep in this season.

The team erupts on every one of them and never lets him forget his dunk count.

It is obvious to see the energy he brings to the team despite the low degree of contributions on the statistic sheets. His fourth dunk came in a 25-point blowout over Chicago, Dec. 17. A month that has been a bit of a trend for Patterson’s impact to heighten.

In his first season with Toronto, Patterson averaged 7.1 points on 42.9 percent shooting through November. He progressed to shoot 44.6 percent through December and 51.4 percent through January.

In his last season with Toronto, Patterson showed progress in his performance come winter again. Basketball-Reference shows through the month of November, PPat averaged eight points on 36.7 percent shooting. December through February, Patterson wrestled with injuries missing multiple games, but came back in March to shoot 41.8 percent from the field.

In his first season with OKC, he averaged 2.8 points through November, to progress to an average of 3.7 points in December, 3.9 points in January, and 4.7 points in February. Those small improvements will add up as OKC Thunder is poised to face teams that will come down the wire.

That is if Patterson’s minutes give him the chance to execute.