Dallas Mavericks Tourney Watch: Justin Patton

With the Dallas Mavericks set for a first round pick in the late lottery and the NCAA Tournament about to get underway, a player to watch is Creighton’s Justin Patton.

The Dallas Mavericks currently sit with a 28-38 record in the Western Conference where they are trying to hold on to a chance as the 8th seed in the playoffs. No matter if the playoff push is successful or not, the Mavericks are looking at a first round pick towards the end of the lottery in the 2017 NBA Draft.

This week, the NCAA Tournament gets underway and this will give fans a chance to watch some prospects that will hear their name called this summer at the draft.

For Mavs fans, this will give them a chance to watch Justin Patton.

Info

Justin Patton is a freshman big man at Creighton under Greg McDermott. Standing at 6’11” and 215 pounds, Patton has been a force in the middle this season at Creighton as he led his team to a six seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Patton appeared in 33 games where he averaged 13.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks a game. Although he didn’t shoot from the outside much, Patton shot 61.5% from the threes he did take.

Draft Express has Patton as their 17th best prospect and had this to say in their profile,

"“All NBA eyes will be on Creighton freshman center Justin Patton, who came out of nowhere to emerge as one of the most intriguing big men prospects in college basketball after sitting out last season as a redshirt. – Source: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Justin-Patton-7310/ ©DraftExpress”"

ESPN has Patton at 15th on their latest big board.

"“Patton’s amazing efficiency has cooled off a little (thanks in large part to Creighton losing point guard Maurice Watson for the season). But all of the things that scouts love about his game remain and there is so much untapped potential.” -Chad Ford"

Strengths

Patton screams potential as the young kid is still evolving into the player he can become. One of the first things scouts mention with him is his efficiency and athleticism. At one point in mid January, the big man was shooting over 75% from two point range.

For a big man, Patton has a pretty good touch on his shot. As the season progressed, Patton even proved that he could step out and hit the outside shot sparingly. As you can see in the below highlight against Arizona State, he can also handle the ball quiet well for a big man of his size.

Weaknesses

Patton’s biggest weakness is his frame. A near seven footer that weighs just 215 pounds is something that might scare off some, but not something that can’t be fixed.

Also, like most big men in the college game, Patton struggles at times on the block. He does have a few good post moves (like above), but will need to develop a more well rounded post game at the next level.

Fit in Dallas

The Dallas Mavericks made one of the bigger trades of the season when they shipped off Andrew Bogut, Justin Anderson and two second round picks for Nerlens Noel. Now, Noel hits restricted free agency this summer where Dallas will assumedly bring back the youngster to be their starting center for the future.

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After Noel, the future looks grim up front…and I’m not going into Noel’s past injury history. Dirk Nowitzki looks to be suiting up for his last season next year while Salah Mejri’s 2017-18 season is non-guaranteed. Then you are looking at Dwight Powell and second round project, A.J. Hammons.

Although a point guard would probably be the preference for Dallas, taking the best available at wherever they land in the first round might be the plan, especially if the top five point guard prospects are off the board.

Either way, Patton looks to be a potential lottery pick and fans should turn their televisions on to watch the kid when he suits up in the NCAA Tournament.

Next: 5 Players to Watch in the NCAA Tournament for Mavs Fans

Patton and Creighton take on Rhode Island on Friday, March 17th.

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