Lamar Patterson Has Established a Significant Role on the Hawks

 

The Hawks continue to find great role players in the second round. Last season, the team drafted both Edy Tavares and Lamar Patterson, but opted to let both polish their games overseas for a season before being signed. Heading into the season, the team brought in a few wing players, notably Terran Petteway, to compete with Patterson for a roster spot. I knew it was a given he would make the team out of the bunch, and I’m honestly not that surprised he has established a decent role with the team. While Tim Hardaway Jr. remains on the bench, Patterson has averaged 17.5 minutes per game in the first five contests of the season.

The minute allocation on the wing will totally depend on Patterson, Hardaway Jr., and Justin Holiday’s development in Coach Bud’s system as well as Thabo Sefolosha’s health. However, Patterson has seized the most out of the opportunity. The numbers aren’t eye-popping, but his versatility makes him valuable on the defensive side of the ball, and he has shot 43% from beyond the arc in the early season’s microscopic sample size. We have seen how the Hawks have extracted every single bit of talent they can get from 3 and D players, and Patterson should be no different. I really liked him when he played for Pitt, and though he was a late-bloomer, he very well passed the eye test and clearly was the most gifted player on the team. I expect him to find his niche in Budenholzer’s scheme.

I think Patterson is a great fit for the system and is in the best situation possible for him to expand his game. I think playing another season in Turkey before hitting the NBA was highly beneficial for him, and he was a 35% shooter from beyond the arc overseas. What’s even more impressive? He shot 50% from the field. Patterson is an efficient player and that’s why I think the Hawks opted to trade to select him. Being in Atlanta with the player development staff that helped make Demarre Carroll a $60 million dollar man should be a match made in heaven, as they seem to add more depth year in and out.

Scroll to Top
%d bloggers like this: