lefty
01-21-2009, 03:59 PM
David Thorpe's Analysis
January 06, 2009
Another guy who has terrific defensive potential, Hill plays on a team that needs offensive firepower off the bench. Sometimes. Recently, they've not needed Hill at all, so he's been quiet, scoring just 10 points in the Spurs' past six games (five were wins) before Monday. But they needed his scoring badly in Miami on Monday, and Hill delivered, scoring 15 points in 17 minutes and making all three of his 3s. I continue to see a similar trend all season for Hill and the Spurs, with Popovich getting him minutes every game to keep him plugged in, expecting a few nights like we saw in Miami.
December 19, 2008
I loved what the Spurs' coaches were doing with Hill before their game in Orlando on Thursday. They weren't practicing the all-too-common spot shooting or simple curl/fade stuff. Instead, they had Hill using a ballscreen where he had to immediately deal with the hedge defender. It was full of the little nuances that make a drill feel "game-like" -- eyes watching for teammates, looking off defenders, changing speeds, etc. The players who get better every month are not necessarily working harder than their counterparts, but smarter
January 06, 2009
Another guy who has terrific defensive potential, Hill plays on a team that needs offensive firepower off the bench. Sometimes. Recently, they've not needed Hill at all, so he's been quiet, scoring just 10 points in the Spurs' past six games (five were wins) before Monday. But they needed his scoring badly in Miami on Monday, and Hill delivered, scoring 15 points in 17 minutes and making all three of his 3s. I continue to see a similar trend all season for Hill and the Spurs, with Popovich getting him minutes every game to keep him plugged in, expecting a few nights like we saw in Miami.
December 19, 2008
I loved what the Spurs' coaches were doing with Hill before their game in Orlando on Thursday. They weren't practicing the all-too-common spot shooting or simple curl/fade stuff. Instead, they had Hill using a ballscreen where he had to immediately deal with the hedge defender. It was full of the little nuances that make a drill feel "game-like" -- eyes watching for teammates, looking off defenders, changing speeds, etc. The players who get better every month are not necessarily working harder than their counterparts, but smarter