The Raptors returned home on Tuesday following a West Coast trip that started hot but ended with three straight losses — remarkably the first time Toronto has dropped three straight since the Rudy Gay trade. Sportsnet caught up with forward Patrick Patterson after practice to talk about what went wrong out West, his evolving role on the team, the surprising ways that playing without DeMar DeRozan impacts this team, and rookie Bruno Caboclo’s return from the D-League.
Sportsnet: You guys ended that road trip on the wrong note, but what positives do you take from those three losses?
Patrick Patterson: The games that we lost, I felt like we were in a great position to win. It didn’t feel like we were getting blown out of the Golden State game, and in Phoenix it was until the second half that it really got away from us. But a bunch of things that happened in that Phoenix game are fixable and correctable.
SN: Like what?
Patterson: Well, as far as doing better on the defensive end — communicating more and finishing plays with the rebound, or better one-on-one defence for both the guards and us bigs in the post. They’re easy things that are fixable, but things we need to turn around in our favour.
SN: That Portland game was a bit of a heartbreaker because you guys were so close, and I agree that, because you guys stayed competitive, it never really felt like a total blowout against the Warriors. But that Phoenix game was probably the most convincing loss of the season. What happened there?
Patterson: With Phoenix, I just felt like they were hitting shots. We tried to make passes, the extra pass a little bit too much; we had open shots we passed up, trying to be a little too unselfish and careless with the ball. But they were able to disrupt our passes by moving their hands and getting in the passing lanes. All of our turnovers, it seemed, led to baskets on the other end. It’s just hard to get rebounds, hard to get opportunities when it feels like they’re hitting shot after shot.
SN: Individually, where are you at with your game right now? What are the things you continue to work on?
Patterson: For my game right now, it’s about my ability to spread the floor and hit open shots, whether it’s a two or a three, as well as being more energetic, sharing the ball, setting the screens, bringing the right amount of energy for my teammates to feed off of.
SN: I may just be misremembering, but going back to college at Kentucky you weren’t always a shooter, were you?
Patterson: No, I didn’t shoot threes until my junior year in college, when [coach John] Calipari came in. He introduced me to the perimetre and that’s when I started taking more threes.
SN: What about in high school?
Patterson: In high school I was strictly a 5-man, back to the basket, the biggest guy on the court.
SN: So, I mean, it’s hardly new at this point, but it must be a pretty substantial change to how you approach the game nowadays.
Patterson: It’s been quite some time now, but it’s been a fun transition. It was difficult the first couple of years, but these past few years it’s gotten easier and easier, being able to be more comfortable with it and consistent.
SN: Are you a guy who studies a lot of film, breaking down your mechanics and whatnot?
Patterson: Just my landing and my follow-through, that’s pretty much it. The coaching staff has film on it and we’ll sit down and look at all my shots throughout a game, specifically my threes on the perimetre — making sure I’m landing the same way each time and the mechanics are the same every time I shoot it.
SN: One of the big storylines around the team right now is the return of DeMar DeRozan to the lineup. Obviously you’re a different team when he plays, but there are some surprising stats to that effect. For example, you guys were first in the NBA in points scored in the paint with him out of the lineup, compared to 16th in the games he played. Does it seem like that for you out there on the floor?
Patterson: No, I mean, honestly, I thought it would be the other way around. With DeMar in the game there are a lot of iso opportunities with him, a lot of pin-downs. He just creates havoc and a lot of problems out there. The shots he takes and makes are pretty much two’s outside the paint, even though he does a good job of getting into the paint and slashing to the basket. But, yeah, I figured that number would be the other way around.
SN: DeMar hasn’t really built his reputation on the defensive end of the floor, but it’s an area he’s worked hard to improve, and aside from free-throw attempts, the defensive struggles has probably been the most noticeable difference with him gone.
Patterson: Last year I think he wasn’t really known for his defence — we’d put Terrence Ross on the other team’s best offensive player. But this season it’s DeMar who’s taken that role, and I think it just speaks to his evolution as a player in terms of being able to play on both sides of the ball now, and him taking that responsibility on in terms of being a superstar and a leader, and an all-star. I think a lot of credit goes to the summer routine he had, and playing with Team USA, and his wanting to always take his game to the next level. Now he wants to guard the best player and wants the ball on the other end. It speaks to his commitment to becoming an even more well-rounded player.
SN: Today marked Bruno Caboclo’s first full practice with the team since his brief stint with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the D-League. Anything you noticed in his return?
Patterson: He was happier to be back. You can tell. You can tell just by the look on his face; he was smiling the whole time, happy to be back with his teammates and back in this environment. I told him, it’s part of the job.
SN: You have some D-League experience, no?
Patterson: When I was with the Houston Rockets I spent almost three months in the D-League. It’s part of the deal. You just take it on, you don’t look at it as a negative, you take it as a positive. You go down there, you get your reps, get your shots, you’re the man, you get the ball in your hand and you get to play. And when you come back here your confidence is up.
Today in practice he was shooting the ball well, he was passing the ball, cutting to the basket, playing defence, he was active and you can tell that the D-League was paying off for him. He’s happy to be back, and we’re happy to have him back.
