Patrick “Tupat” Patterson should have theoretically been in his prime for the past couple years, and maybe he should even be in his prime right at this very moment, but the scant amount of videos I have made for him in the past couple years indicates one of two things:
1. Patrick Patterson is actually in his prime but was being misused to the point where nobody even realizes how prime he is right now
2. Patrick Patterson’s prime happened at age 23 and he’s only gotten worse since then
All I can tell you is the facts: I made one P-Pat video near the beginning of last season when he scored an earth-shattering 17 points, and I made one back in December 2015 when he scored eighteen points, and then I made a handful of Tupat videos in 2014 (including one where he smashed through the twenty-point barrier by dropping 22). I think that was right after he got traded from the Kings to the Raptors. That was back when it seemed like every player acquisition the Kings made just failed horribly.
All of those facts make it seem like Patterson peaked early in his career and then just kind of wandered as a lost soul through the league, getting traded a few times but never solidifying a meaningful place in a rotation. However, early returns on his Clippers tenure are positive. Maybe he can be a real contributor! All the indicators are there: twenty points is the most he’s scored in half a decade, stretch fours pair nicely with non-stretch bigs (Zubac and Harrell), and Paul George is out for a little while still. Let’s all send positive vibes Patterson’s way so he can revive his career and keep contributing with savvy three-pointers until he’s 36.