Justin

Patton

Patton appeared in 13 games for the Rockets, averaging 5.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 11.1 blocks, and 0.9 steals in 19.0 minutes per game. He played a minimal role in the rotation.

Patton was a DNP-CD in his previous three outings, and the only reason he got into tonight’s game was because it was a massive blowout. As long as Christian Wood is healthy, Patton won’t get the minutes he needs to make an impact in any league.

He’s shown signs of greatness with Christian Wood out with his ankle injury but didn’t come through tonight. And with Wood expected back for Wednesday’s game, Patton’s run may have come to an end. If you can drop Patton to pick up Moses Brown, run, don’t walk.

There was some hope that Wood would be able to return for this game, but with the Rockets on the frontend of a back-to-back, they’re going to err on the side of caution. There is some optimism about both Wood and House getting back out there for Wednesday’s game vs. the Warriors, but for tonight, it’ll be Justin Patton drawing another start with Kevin Porter Jr. and KJ Martin seeing extended minutes.

He was coming off a dud on Thursday, but has been sneaky good lately with 8th-round value in category leagues over his last five games with 6.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.2 dimes, 1.6 steals, 1.2 blocks and 1.2 triples in 23.8 minutes. The Rockets will be moving on from P.J. Tucker, so Patton’s fantasy value is going to hinge on whether or not coach Stephen Silas is willing to use Patton alongside Christian Wood (ankle) when he comes back. Wood has played 43% of his minutes as a four in his career, so it’s certainly on the table.

Wood has been practicing in full, so there’s a reasonable chance we’ll see him back on the floor for Sunday’s home game vs. the Celtics. With him out, Justin Patton will get another opportunity to start, and he’ll look to bounce-back from Thursday’s stinker, although that won’t be easy with a matchup against Rudy Gobert.

This will be the first time Tucker will come off the bench since 2018. It’s no secret that the Rockets are planning to move him at the deadline, so this isn’t really a surprise. Sterling Brown and Justin Patton are both in the starting lineup for the Rockets to evaluate, and Patton has been generating a lot of buzz in fantasy leagues with a top-50 run in his last four games.

Head coach Stephen Silas said that Wood was moving around fine, but now he needs to work on his conditioning after a lengthy layoff, so that will be the final step before he’s cleared. Wood said that he’s feeling great and he only expects to be out for “a few more days,” so maybe he’ll be able to return for Friday’s game in Utah or Sunday’s game back in Houston vs. the Celtics. That gives Justin Patton another few games to produce, but he’ll likely fall off a fantasy cliff once Wood is back.

Patton is on a two-way contract and wasn’t expected to make much of an impact this season but with Christian Wood (ankle) out, DeMarcus Cousins gone, and the Rockets down to eight healthy players, he’s suddenly been thrown into the fire. The points, boards and 3-pointers tied his career highs, he’s blocked a shot in all six games this season, has seven steals over his last two and has hit a 3-pointer in four straight. Wood is due back right after the break so Patton could disappear just as quickly as he’s come on, but the Rockets may choose to just keep running him out there given that they’ve lost 13 straight games and are 11-23 on the season. If you’re in a deep league and need a big man, he’s probably worth a flier.

Teams can have two players on two-way deals and the removal of the 50-game cap would provide extra roster flexibility during the pandemic. There’s a long list of two-way players, which includes guys like Saben Lee, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Justin Patton, Jordan McLaughlin and Garrison Mathews.