Patterson remains confident in post
LOS ANGELES — The plays looked uncomfortable, but Patrick Patterson said he wasn’t.
Like most of the Thunder’s starters Tuesday, Patterson had an awful shooting start. It wasn’t so much the misses, however, but where they were coming from: the post.
Patterson shot 38 percent from 3 last season and is viewed as a floor spacer for the Thunder with his perimeter shooting. But two of his first five shots Tuesday came on post ups from the right side of the lane against 6-foot-7 shooting guard Klay Thompson, shots that didn’t look like a part of the Thunder’s plan on offense.
Patterson missed both attempts, one a fadeaway air ball with 11 seconds left on the shot clock.
Last season, Patterson shot 4-of-8 on 22 post up possessions, per NBA.com. Despite limited opportunities, Patterson’s confident in that area, particularly if he gets a smaller player switched onto him.
“Teams are going to switch on me. It’s inevitable,” said the 6-foot-9, 230-pound Patterson. “So, it’s all about trying to take advantage of mismatches whether it’s a big on PG, a big on Russ or Dennis, having them take them off the dribble, or it’s a small on me trying to look for certain opportunities, that I can post up and try to get two points around the basket.”
Light day in L.A.
On one end of the Russell Westbrook Basketball Court was ... Russell Westbrook.
Along with Andre Roberson, Westbrook went around the 3-point arc, taking catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. On the other end of the court, Abdel Nader, Timothe LuwawuCabarrot, Deonte Burton, Tyler Davis and Hamidou Diallo went through two-ontwo drills. Various other Thunder players lined the sidelines of the gym at UCLA on Wednesday afternoon.
The day was a light one after the Thunder’s late loss to the Warriors on Tuesday. The Thunder doesn’t play again until Friday against the Clippers, so coach Billy Donovan used Wednesday’s practice as a chance to watch film and walk through scripted scenarios on offense.
When asked if any players were rested, Donovan said there was no reason because “we really didn’t do a lot.” There was no update on whether or not Westbrook would be available for Friday’s game, but he was not made available to speak with the media.
Donovan called Thursday an important day of practice for playing through and implementing the corrections Thunder walked through in Wednesday’s session.
Stat of the day
22: The Thunder forced the Warriors to take 22 non-paint 2-point shots, viewed as some of the most inefficient shots in basketball based on range and value. The Warriors took almost as many non-paint twos as 3-pointers (26).