Disappointed in Hill

[picnroll]

Hill did not come through in the Denver game. He had a chance to show his stuff and he remained the same passive, deferring player even with the big three out. He did not create. He shows a lack of quickness in the halfcourt, can't beat his man even off a set pick. Beginning to wonder.

[HarlemHeat37]

it has nothing to do with physical attributes though..he was beating his man all the time during the stretch without Parker and Ginobili..he's obviously shown us that he has a lot of talent and physical ability..he looked great in the 1st quarter last night, he just became passive the rest of the game..

it seems to be all mental with George..

[tp2021]

Beginning to wonder? Why?

[m33p0]

he wasn't prepared for the game. that's all.

[urunobili]

he wasn't prepared for the game. that's all.

excuses.... :nope

[m33p0]

excuses.... :nope
exactly. he had no excuse for not being ready. hopefully, this experience cures him of that.

[lebomb]

He is a rookie..........no?

[mathbzh]

He is a rookie, what did you expect exactly?

[DarrinS]

He's young. I did see him make a couple of really good passes and he finished strong on a couple of fast breaks.

[nkdlunch]

yup he was worst Spur on the floor last nite

[m33p0]

yup he was worst Spur on the floor last nite
jacque "white flag" vaughn

[anjlbitz]

Jacque Vaughn actually played pretty well last night.

Ime Udoka however....

[nkdlunch]

Udoka played well too.

[EricB]

You guys do realize he's a rookie learning a new position? Right?

[bigdog]

Hill didn't have a great game, but it wasn't horrible either. Some of those picks weren't exactly amazing either. Sometimes Oberto just kinda walks up there and pretends to set a pick. I agree, he could have played better but it just doesn't always happen like that.

I've come to the conclusion that Ime Udoka is a worse basketball player than Jacque Vaughn. Vaughn played a decent game last night, and while Ime made a few shots, the rest of them were absolute bricks.

[fyatuk]

I've come to the conclusion that Ime Udoka is a worse basketball player than Jacque Vaughn. Vaughn played a decent game last night, and while Ime made a few shots, the rest of them were absolute bricks.

While Ime made a couple shots off his drives, it looked like he was about to lose the ball every time (like he did on that fast break). I saw bricks, and drives that he was lucky he didn't turn the ball over. Wasn't fun to watch.

[SenorSpur]

I wanted to see Hill run the offense more. I grew tired of seeing guys like Udoka and Mason bringing the ball down, dribbling it off their foots or throwing up quick shots.

[wildbill2u]

Rookies start to hit the wall about this time of year when the rigorous long schedule begins to take its toll--not to mention this was probably his first time at playing at a mile high altitude.

He's had his ups and downs and will have more. It's notable that Pop continues to play him ahead of Vaughn who, to give the vet his due, is a pretty damn knowledgeable point guard who plays hard when he's in there.

Pop can always shorten the rotation by the playoffs if he decides the rookie can't hang this year.

[PDXSpursFan]

Hill sucks.. let's bring back NVE :rolleyes

[NFGIII]

Though I wish that he would be more agressive I think that will come with time. He's just another rookie learning how to play in this league. As his consistency improves so will his agressiveness. Pop will continue to make a point of this and through repetition - aka.........a Pop ass chrewing.... he will come around. Guy's got talent so I'm not sweating this at all.

Come PO time I expect to see a more agressive player but if not then next year. He's just a work in progress.

[angelbelow]

well im disappointed in him too. i expected more out of him last night. but im not wondering anything bad about him. it happens, hes just a rookie. AND he was up against billups... the guy who put beno on the bench for 3 years.

[KaiRMD1]

I don't expect Hill to automatically be great all the time. While yes, these are the Spurs & unfortunately, Spurs fans demand greatness for some reason, I'm willing to just let him get his experience. Dude is going to be awesome eventually.

[lebomb]

Yep typical Spurs fan............they dumped T. Parker when he was replace by Speedy Claxton in the playoffs during his early years............. Now???

[benefactor]

Udoka played well too.
Yup...all those bricks and dribbling off his foot was just awesome.

[nkdlunch]

Yup...all those bricks and dribbling off his foot was just awesome.

he played good D on Melo and made some great passes. :rolleyes

[benefactor]

he played good D on Melo and made some great passes. :rolleyes
Lets rename him Anthony Tolliver then.

[xellos88330]

Well, if Hill made 2 or 3 of his jumpers, it might have been a different story.

[nkdlunch]

Lets rename him Anthony Tolliver then.

yes sometimes Tolliver has some good games too

[benefactor]

The fact of the matter is that the standard is set higher for Ime. We expect him to be the Ime that played so well versus the Hornets last year...not some fringe player that is getting compared to rookie players that barely know the system. For what we expect of him, he was the worst player out there last night.

[nkdlunch]

He played great vs. hornets? I don't remember so must mean he did not play so "great"

I'm not even sure I wan Udoka out there. but we must recognize last night was his best game of the current season. And he was not doing worse than Hill out there. He was very agressive while on the floor. props to that step forward regardless of him staying on the bench or not.

[benefactor]

He played great vs. hornets? I don't remember so must mean he did not play so "great"

I'm not even sure I wan Udoka out there. but we must recognize last night was his best game of the current season. And he was not doing worse than Hill out there. He was very agressive while on the floor. props to that step forward regardless of him staying on the bench or not.
Playoffs last year against the Hornets...just to clarify.

[Brazil]

I was quite disappointed also, in the absence of Tony he made a lot of quality games i was expecting more yesterday but he is a rookie he will be more consistent.

[EJK5032]

G Hill has superb athleticism but he doesn't take advantage on the offensive end. I think he watches all of Parkers layups and thinks that's what he should be doing. He's bigger and stronger than Parker, and trying to play like Parker makes his game "smaller" and all his layups get blocked. GHill needs to be driving and dunking every time !!! Pop needs to tell him that every time he drives and doesn't try to dunk, he's coming out of the game.

Pop's summer league assessment of him is still true: defensively, he is NBA ready; offensively, he is a trainwreck.

G Hill needs to seriously work on his ball handling and passing........he's just too carefree with the ball, lots of one handed passes and soft passes, and I think sometimes he just doesn't have a good enough handle to drive around defenders in pick and roll situations. So that's this coming summer. Summer after that will be shooting. So you're looking at a minimum of 2 seasons from now before he has any real role on this team offensively.

[Lady M]

Maybe if Manu give him sometimes the ball he can regain his self-assurance

[timvp]

Hill did not come through in the Denver game. He had a chance to show his stuff and he remained the same passive, deferring player even with the big three out. He did not create. He shows a lack of quickness in the halfcourt, can't beat his man even off a set pick. Beginning to wonder.Eh, Hill outplayed Billups in the first quarter. He made Billups look slow a few times and had good energy.

Then Hill seemed to lose his legs during his second stint and never recovered. He had that typical "walking in mud" look that most rookies get when they hit the rookie wall. Yesterday I said I didn't think Hill had hit the rookie well but last night's game changed my mind. Hill couldn't move after he had played his regular amount of minutes.

Hopefully he gets a second wind at some point before the playoffs. I'm guessing the All-Star break will do him some good.

[picnroll]

Maybe if he stopped looking to dump the ball off to Manu as soon as possible. My concern is, as a PG, he has shown a lack of abiltiy to break down the offense in half court and create shots for others. He's rotated the ball okay, he's penetrated when players are out of position on him. He has not taken the ball to the hoop off picks consistently and hasn't beaten even barely average defenders off the dribble. He's fast in a straight line but I'm not seeing quickness, a good first step or change of direction.

[TheProfessor]

Tough crowd. He's a rookie learning a new position and is likely to hit the "wall" soon, if he hasn't already. Inconsistency is hardly surprising.

[gmanrulz]

he was playing great when parker was injured avering around 15 a game for a while then pop decided to totally cut him off when parker came back, giving him 10 minutes a game and killing the confidence he gained.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

Maybe if Manu give him sometimes the ball he can regain his self-assurance

Manu's actually been acknowledging Hill the last two three games dishing it to him on fastbreaks, etc.

I think Hill's just out of his element regardless, as last night's game showed, he doesn't know when to assert to himself, and when to help make an offensive play. Pop will work with him.

[The Truth #6]

It took even Parker years to learn to be consistent. That's the issue with most young players - they can't consistently play to their potential. Yeah, it would be great if Hill was somehow already better but he's not bad as it is and he is getting better.

He rarely turns the ball over and has a solid assist to turnover ratio. Then again, so did Vinny del Negro. He's figuring it out. When he tries not to be passive he also gets blocked or charges. Just being aggressive isn't the answer in and of itself. He's learning how to play in the NBA.

[TheProfessor]

he was playing great when parker was injured avering around 15 a game for a while then pop decided to totally cut him off when parker came back, giving him 10 minutes a game and killing the confidence he gained.
Losing 5 minutes killed his confidence? Hill doesn't strike me as that kind of player. Getting more consistent minutes probably helped with his rhythm, and he did well in that role for a time, but it's not a realistic expectation for the rest of the season into the playoffs. He was a reliable stopgap that showed great potential, and he'll get solid back-up minutes for the time being, as he should. Hopefully he keeps adjusting to that role.

[HarlemHeat37]

I agree that he should use his athleticism more..he has the tools, he should use them more often..go up strong..

a lot of people seem to forget though..he was the 26th pick in the draft, not a lottery pick..expectations are different..

[senorglory]

Rookies start to hit the wall about this time of year when the rigorous long schedule begins to take its toll

I think the Rookie Wall only applies to rookies that play significant minutes, Hill hardly sets foot on the floor most nights.

[tlongII]

I think the Rookie Wall only applies to rookies that play significant minutes, Hill hardly sets foot on the floor most nights.

Agreed. Backups don't hit a rookie wall.

[xellos88330]

Hill needs to speed up his release around the rim or something. The man is a block magnet.

[Bender]

Yup...all those bricks and dribbling off his foot was just awesome.

yeah, what the hell happened there... I wasn't watching the game real closely, but I did see him bringing the ball up... and then he lost it out of bounds ahead of him. Looked like he did it with his knee, was it his foot?

I was expecting him to have a good year this year, but he's getting worse.

[weebo]

You gotta feel bad for Ime. This year he seems to be like the odd man out. I think maybe he's feeling the pressure of having high expectations as a player in his second year with the Spurs. Last year's playoffs he had a good run in the Hornet series, but since then has lost all confidence. I think he needs to focus more on helping the team in other ways like rebounding and playing solid defense. Once he gets a little more comfortable playing, he'll pop the occasional three with a lot more confidence.

[Yorae]

James White!

[Chieflion]

Some of you make it out as if Hill was Derrick Rose. It was a totally new experience for Hill on the court last game. Chemistry was not that good most probably and without at least one of the big three, there was not enough spacing to create. In addition, he is a freaking rookie.

[TDMVPDPOY]

is hill playing better than beno in his first year?

as far im not concerned, the team record this year is nearly identical to 04/05 championship season campaign. and beno was posting around 5-6ppg......<<< that is the bar i have hill to be at, if he does better than good for him and the spurs....lets j ust hope he doesnt regressed.....

04/05 rookie season
beno 5.9ppg 1rpg 1.9apg 75% ft 40% 3pt 44% fg 14.4mpg
hill 6.9ppg 2.4rpg 2apg 78% ft 36% 3pt 39% fg 18.1mpg

fkn haters

[smeagol]

rascal told me we should dump Manu and develop him . . .

[m33p0]

Agreed. Backups don't hit a rookie wall.
i'm sure Oden will be glad for that insight.

[m33p0]

Eh, Hill outplayed Billups in the first quarter. He made Billups look slow a few times and had good energy.

Then Hill seemed to lose his legs during his second stint and never recovered. He had that typical "walking in mud" look that most rookies get when they hit the rookie wall. Yesterday I said I didn't think Hill had hit the rookie well but last night's game changed my mind. Hill couldn't move after he had played his regular amount of minutes.

Hopefully he gets a second wind at some point before the playoffs. I'm guessing the All-Star break will do him some good.
playing in Denver might have something to do with it.

[Yorae]

Damn the rookie wall......I'll lend him a drill...

[smeagol]

People were expecting him to play in the AS rookie team . . . :depressed

[TDMVPDPOY]

People were expecting him to play in the AS rookie team . . . :depressed

he got robbed imo.....

[smeagol]

he got robbed imo.....

PnR begs to differ . . .

I think the facts are he was playing much better in Nov. He played very well in the 1Q of the Nuggets game and then he simply disappeared.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

I think the travels of NBA life have worn him out. As others have said, he's hit that rookie wall. I wouldn't have expected too much out of him against Denver. IMO the travel and schedule wears someone out as much as the games themselves do.

[rascal]

I think the travels of NBA life have worn him out. As others have said, he's hit that rookie wall. I wouldn't have expected too much out of him against Denver. IMO the travel and schedule wears someone out as much as the games themselves do.


He has lost some confidence with the limited playing time. If he was getting the type of minutes he was getting at the beginning of the season he would be a different player now. No rookie wall, just sporatic minutes and inconsistent play.

[Chomag]

What I have noticed is that he is playing scared. Pop has the tendency to give him no leeway. One mistake and he is yanked out immediately and most likely not to return in the game.

I know Pop is a great coach but I think he maybe overdoing it with hill at times. He seems to be expecting to much perfection from Hill. Maybe in his old age he forgets that Hill is not a veteran? Let the kid learn pop! The only way he is going to do that is allowing him to play and make those mistakes. Sure, pull him over and coach him about what he is doing wrong but for god sakes let him play. If he doesn't seem to be listening or is resistant to your teachings then by all means pull him out.

Honestly was Pop this strict with parker way back in his earlier years?

[THE_FLASH3]

Hill is garbage Chalmers is the best rookie pg