George Hill is a beast

[lurker23]

Okay, so I know we've all been using the word "beast" for DeJuan Blair, and rightfully so. Blair has had an amazing preseason, showing an incredible aptitude at pulling in rebounds and creating SpursTalk threads, and we expect great things out of him in the regular season. However, I invite you to take a step back and look closer at the preseason George Hill has been having:

Oct. 6 vs. Houston: 15 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds in 30 minutes
Oct. 9 vs. Olympiacos: 17 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds in 22 minutes
Oct. 11 at Miami: 12 points, 1 assist, 2 rebounds in 18 minutes
Oct. 14 vs. LA Clippers: 13 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds in 29 minutes
Oct. 16 vs. Cleveland: 13 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound in 25 minutes
Oct. 20 at Oklahoma City: 16 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound in in 18 minutes

He's done all this while shooting 26 for 47 (55.3%) from the field, 26 for 31 (83.9%) from the free throw line, and 8 for 13 (61.5%) from three-point range.

While George has spawned a few threads this preseason, it's time to truly appreciate how special a player he could become for this team. We already knew he had the potential to be a great defender; if he can throw in a solid offensive game, he has the potential to be, as far as all-around game goes, the third best guard on this team.

[kbrury]

:toast

As soon as we can we need to lock up Hill for the rest of his career lol.

[Blackjack]

Hate to tell you I told you so, but I love to post it on this here board. :hat

[TIMMYD!]

He just unleashed his potential over the summer.

[CGD]

This is the guy to watch this year.

[bigdog]

Good to see George playing well. I think he's really improved from last season and he's ready for a breakout year. Pop and the rest of the Spurs have been raving about George all summer.

[Mel_13]

Yet another example of the utter incompetence of the Spurs' FO.

[Spursmania]

Hill has and will be amazing this year. To Hill:toast

[HarlemHeat37]

He's obviously no Beno Udrih..in before Ruff mentions Benophobia..

[DJB]

I was saying at the start of last season that we could lose Tony and still win with Hill... he's got loads of potential.

[SouthTexasRancher]

:toast

As soon as we can we need to lock up Hill for the rest of his career lol.


No 'lol' needed with your post, kbrury...you are absolutely correct that we need to lock Hill up for a long time...as soon as NBA rules allow it. Amazing how we end up with tremendous players late in the draft...Parker, Manu, Hill & Blair to name 4 who will hopefully lead us to #5 this season. Pop & RC do do their homework. And of course we're pretty damn good with our #1 picks...Timmy & David. :toast

[honestfool84]

:toast

As soon as we can we need to lock up Hill for the rest of his career lol.

definitely.

[tlongII]

lol George Hill.

[SpurNation]

Yet another example of the utter incompetence of the Spurs' FO.

Yeah. They have NO Clue as to what they're doing. ;)

[DJB]

lol George Hill.

lol your entire team.

[Manufan909]

This is the guy to watch this year, after the Meast of course.

fixed

[Thompson]

I love Hill's improvement. He's going to have a good year.

[Mel_13]

lol George Hill.

I suppose Bayless is better? Please...

Hill is already better than Bayless and Blake. He'll be better than Miller by the time the Blazers have to decide on his 3rd year option.

Btw, the Euro games ended over a month ago. How much longer until Rudy's "non-issue" back spasms allow him to play?

[SouthTexasRancher]

lol George Hill.


A little jealousy there, eh tlongII...!

[kbrury]

No 'lol' needed with your post, kbrury...you are absolutely correct that we need to lock Hill up for a long time...as soon as NBA rules allow it. Amazing how we end up with tremendous players late in the draft...Parker, Manu, Hill & Blair to name 4 who will hopefully lead us to #5 this season. Pop & RC do do their homework. And of course we're pretty damn good with our #1 picks...Timmy & David. :toast

Agreed, Ill change the meaning of my lol to lol at other teams for not picking up on the talent that is Mr. George Hill. Ill be honest I wanted Chalmers that draft day but now I couldn't be happier with the pick of Hill.

[SouthTexasRancher]

Agreed, Ill change the meaning of my lol to lol at other teams for not picking up on the talent that is Mr. George Hill. Ill be honest I wanted Chalmers that draft day but now I couldn't be happier with the pick of Hill.


:tu

[NRHector]

lol George Hill.Child Please:toast

[ducks]

blazers getting their asses wiped again

[Juanobili]

future looks good for the Spurs

[TDMVPDPOY]

who was the clown that said HILL hit the rookie wall last season, fkn

maybe that girl he went with to the prom ended his "DRY" spell hahahhahahaha

GHILL3 recognize me biatches

[Manufan909]

He looked so good tonight that I think the Spurs should trade Jefferson and Parker for LeBron. Start George at point and then we will have a line up of:

Hill
Manu
LeBron
Duncan
Blair

In all seriousness DeJuan Blair has really over-shadowed how much George Hill has improved. Come the regular season our second line up of Hill Manu and Blair is going to be crazy. Throw in Hairston and our second group is better than some teams starting line ups. Namely the Bucks.

Don't cry for Hill, cry for Ian. How shitty must he look now, with him knowing the system from the few NBA minutes he's had, as well as DL minutes, SL minutes, preseason minutes, and then Blair comes from the 37th pick and dominates every other second he is on the court.

[DPG21920]

I hope Hill's improvement is actually maintained into the regular season. He potentially fills such a big need for the Spurs that it is imperative Hill's game is elevated.

[ulosturedge]

Hill, Manu, and Blair will be the 2nd unit. Who will play center and small forward i'm not sure. I would say Jefferson will play part of his minutes with the 2nd unit along with Finley. Who plays center though? Ian? Ratliff?

PG,SG, and PF seem to have a solid 1st and 2nd unit. Jefferson will get the majority of the minutes at SF sharing with Finley. And Center will be by committee.

That's my guess atleast. Sorry if it sounded like I repeated myself lol.

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

lol George Hill.

lol trailblazers training staff

[SenorSpur]

Hill is easily one of the most improved from last year's '08 rookie crop. We're seeing the results of all the hard work he put in over the offseason. Can't wait to view the results during the regular season.

[TDMVPDPOY]

I hope Hill's improvement is actually maintained into the regular season. He potentially fills such a big need for the Spurs that it is imperative Hill's game is elevated.

Hill had no problem scoring 20pts on some nights when he had starters minutes, remember last seaosn when parker was out injured, thats what ghill was posting and then it went downhill with his minutes declining and gino also returning, not enough touches to go around....

GHILL is too good to be playin off the bench....spurs better locked up his ass on a cheap contract like blair whose on the nba minimum for the next 4yrs hahahaha whiles horseshit lottery rookies he has outplay so far in the pres season are earning 3-4x his salary :(...go out and prove them wrong blair

[duncan228]

Hill is easily one of the most improved from last year's '08 rookie crop.

He's getting some press too.


NBA’s Sophomore Slumps and Surprises

Biggest Improvement: George Hill

Hill steadily improved over his rookie campaign and played well for the Spurs when Tony Parker went down mid-season to injury spurts. Four games into the preseason and Hill is averaging a hair over 14 points with two assists per game. Look for him to make a push for more minutes and more productivity this year.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137019

[phyzik]

In light of the shit we give the Lakers about Bynum, I will wait until Hill AND Blai can make it to mid-season before I crown them...

Hill proved himself last season in our loss to the Mav's. Pop totally fucked up not playing him sooner in that series. Not that we would have won either way, but he did damn well as a rookie in that series.

[ooshmay]

haha..

Hill has so much potential!!!
Big fan coz of his effort on defence.

[Darkwaters]

Hill, Manu, and Blair will be the 2nd unit. Who will play center and small forward i'm not sure. I would say Jefferson will play part of his minutes with the 2nd unit along with Finley. Who plays center though? Ian? Ratliff?

PG,SG, and PF seem to have a solid 1st and 2nd unit. Jefferson will get the majority of the minutes at SF sharing with Finley. And Center will be by committee.

That's my guess atleast. Sorry if it sounded like I repeated myself lol.


I was thinking about that today. Realistically your top 4 bigs are Duncan, McDyess, Blair and Bonner. So you would think that Duncan/McDyess play together and Blair/Bonner player together. However, that gives us two weak defenders in the second unit. I think McDyess will instead log a decent amount of his time with the 2nd team and Bonner will log a decent amount of minutes with Duncan still up with the first team. Thats not to say that a Duncan/Blair pairing can't happen either. But I think you just try and separate Blair and Bonner if at all possible.

Depending on how many minutes Ratliff gives he could possibly mix and match with any of those four players also.

Heres what I see as the primary rotation:

First team - Parker, Mason, Jefferson, Duncan, McDyess or Bonner or Ratliff
Second Team - Hill, Ginobili, Jefferson or Finley, Blair, McDyess or Duncan or Ratliff

Rotations continue to get muddied if and when Hill plays off the ball. But those are the two major rotations I think are possible and realistic.

[raspsa]

Blair is Beast.
Hill is Animal.

[Darkwaters]

Blair is Beast.
Hill is Animal.

Blair -

http://marvel.com/universe3zx/images/6/6b/Beast.jpg


Hill??? -

http://lineout.thestranger.com/files/2008/01/animal.gif

[timtonymanu]

lol George Hill.

lol Bayless - summer league mvp
lol Miller not fitting in
lol Blake as your best point guard


I know Blazers fans that want Hill on their team.

Loser.

[TDMVPDPOY]

lol Bayless - summer league mvp
lol Miller not fitting in
lol Blake as your best point guard


I know Blazers fans that want Hill on their team.

Loser.

bayless looks like a busts

[Sean Cagney]

lol George Hill.

Let that shark in your sig eat you please..... Now move on.

[Riverwalkman]

Every time Parker went down, George Hill played well. So obviously he's a reliable back-up PG. This season Hill will get more mins as Pop intend to have him play 2 with Tony on court. Because of his wingspan, he's legit to defense most SG in NBA.

[Baseline]

There's never been anything wrong with George Hill. Pop is the one who screwed him over last year by sitting him and playing Mason at the point. That was genius. He was successful in screwing up both Hill and Mason for the playoffs.

But at least Pop knows he blew that one, so this year he's proclaiming George as his favorite player.

The good thing about George is that he is excelling despite Pop and his ridiculous head games and failed experiments.

Go Spurs.

[jjktkk]

There's never been anything wrong with George Hill. Pop is the one who screwed him over last year by sitting him and playing Mason at the point. That was genius. He was successful in screwing up both Hill and Mason for the playoffs.

But at least Pop knows he blew that one, so this year he's proclaiming George as his favorite player.

The good thing about George is that he is excelling despite Pop and his ridiculous head games and failed experiments.

Go Spurs.:rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes, Hill succeeding despite Pop? So Hill just freelances out on the court, never listens to the plays Pop calls out huh? Well hell, why don't George become a player/coach. Why would he need to listen to a coach whose won 4 NBA Championships? Yes the expierment of Mason playing the point last year failed, but I don't think there is a coach out there who never makes a mistake. Pop will be a hall of famer when his coaching days are behind him.

[SenorSpur]

Hill had no problem scoring 20pts on some nights when he had starters minutes, remember last seaosn when parker was out injured, thats what ghill was posting and then it went downhill with his minutes declining and gino also returning, not enough touches to go around....


All of which makes Pop's decision to inexplicably bench Hill in favor of Mason, as backup PG, all the more a head-scratcher - especially for a coach of his brilliance. The fact that Mason sucked, in that role, made that decision one of the dumbest moves Pop has made in many years - if ever. Pop simply overthought that decision.

It was obvious to all last year, and it's even more obvious this year, that Hill is a player. The kid can play and play really well.

[xellos88330]

Hill is awesome. If he is consistent, it will be a hell of a 1-2 punch with Parker/Hill at the PG position.

[angelbelow]

Child Please:toast

Actually I heard he was an overweight loser in his mid 40s.

[TDMVPDPOY]

All of which makes Pop's decision to inexplicably bench Hill in favor of Mason, as backup PG, all the more a head-scratcher - especially for a coach of his brilliance. The fact that Mason sucked, in that role, made that decision one of the dumbest moves Pop has made in many years - if ever. Pop simply overthought that decision.

It was obvious to all last year, and it's even more obvious this year, that Hill is a player. The kid can play and play really well.

its the same shit he pulled with beno when it was only one series against the defensive pistons that he couldnt bring the ball up halfcourt in the finals, so what pop did was allow barry or gino bring the ball up and the following season bring in more stupid over the hill veterans while putting beno in the doghouse for 2 season.

[kobyz]

Hill made very big improvment over the summer, it's show that he's a hard worke, props to him:tu

[Muser]

Damn, his 3 point shooting is awesome.

[NickiRasgo]

He also a beast? So it's time for him to have a cage. :lol

[mountainballer]

will be very interesting, who's minutes he will eat. if he is as good as he looks in the preseason and Pop is in fact as high on him as he told via medias, then we can expect Hill to play 20+ minutes, maybe up to 25.
this would mean we see him also a lot alongside Tony. likely he will steal the minutes from Mason, who's PT might drop down to also about 20MPG. if Hill's shooting in the preseason wasn't a fluke, he could make Mason even more dispensable, considering Hill is the much better defender and also better ball handler. Mason might even become a trade candidate at deadline, his contract will be quite attractive for many teams.

I can't see where else Hill's minutes could come from.

[benefactor]

The potential showed it's flashes last year...but now he is wide open. Hill is going to be our most important bench player of all the players not named Ginobili.

will be very interesting, who's minutes he will eat. if he is as good as he looks in the preseason and Pop is in fact as high on him as he told via medias, then we can expect Hill to play 20+ minutes, maybe up to 25.
this would mean we see him also a lot alongside Tony. likely he will steal the minutes from Mason, who's PT might drop down to also about 20MPG. if Hill's shooting in the preseason wasn't a fluke, he could make Mason even more dispensable, considering Hill is the much better defender and also better ball handler. Mason might even become a trade candidate at deadline, his contract will be quite attractive for many teams.

I can't see where else Hill's minutes could come from.
Agreed. Mason is still looking very limited and has potential to become not much more than a gunner off the bench. Hill could wind up with a lot more minutes at SG...which would be fine with me because even though Mason is bigger, Hill is by far the better all around player. With enough minutes, it might be hard to ignore him in the sixth man of the year discussions. :hat

[kobyz]

even Mason is 6'5 i without a doubt prefer Hill over Mason at the SG position - defensively and offensively. Mason should not play any minutes this season, Hill need to get all of his minutes.

[mystargtr34]

After the 16 minutes he will get backing up Tony, theres about 20 minutes left to split between he and RMJ, when Manu is out of the game. I think Mason's shooting ability will get him at least 15 of those minutes, leaving about 5 for George, meaning about 20 MPG, which is about right for him given the quality of back court in front of him.

The only way i see GH taking the majority of Mason's minutes is if he shoots the 3 at closer to 35%, which is a stretch, despite his pre-season numbers. If he can get it above that magic number, then the rest of his game will outweigh Mason's better shooting %.

Either way, its a good problem to have.

[mystargtr34]

even Mason is 6'5 i without a doubt prefer Hill over Mason at the SG position - defensively and offensively. Mason should not play any minutes this season, Hill need to get all of his minutes.

Mason is still one of the best shooters in the entire league. Right now, his game is more complimentary to Tim and Tony, than is George's - despite his extra flaws.

[Muser]

Mason should not play any minutes this season, Hill need to get all of his minutes.


:lmao:lmao:lmao

[TMTTRIO]

If George can keep this up could he possibly be in the running for 6MOY and possibly beat Manu out? Something interesting to think about.

[Muser]

Let's put the brakes on people, Hill would have to beat out players like B Gordon/Terry etc. for 6MOY, i'm as happy as the next guy that he's playing well but let's not go too far.

[Manu-of-steel]

Let's put the brakes on people, Hill would have to beat out players like B Gordon/Terry etc. for 6MOY, i'm as happy as the next guy that he's playing well but let's not go too far.

agree. If Hill plays within the system and gives us decent numbers, i'll be ok with that.

[Bukefal]

I have never liked Hill and I always thought we would be better off without him, but it's nice to see he is improving. As for our team, damnnnn we have a kick ass squad!!! Spurs fans, we should feel lucky, very lucky and happy!

[Spurs Brazil]

IF Hill can keep his good play in the regular season he’ll take some minutes from Mason at 2, especially when we see some great offensive SG and PG.

Hill and TP together will be fun

[kobyz]

:lmao:lmao:lmao

you fall to all the Mason hype, he is not good enough for that level, he only can shoot the 3 without doing anything else on offense and he can't play defense, and against the real defenses of the playoff his 3 point shooting also not existent, so yes i for sure redder give his minutes to Hill and Bogans!

[Solid D]

Hill's defense on Westbrook was impressive last night. It was like watching a different player, really. He showed confidence, tenacity and a great shooting touch. He only had one bad trip, where he dribbled down the clock looking for options on the wing and then hoisted a heat-check. Otherwise, George was the most complete player (offense and defense) for the Spurs.

[all_heart]

Hill's defense on Westbrook was impressive last night. It was like watching a different player, really. He showed confidence, tenacity and a great shooting touch. He only had one bad trip, where he dribbled down the clock looking for options on the wing and then hoisted a heat-check. Otherwise, George was the most complete player (offense and defense) for the Spurs.

That's great to hear, how's his first step? I ask cause because when a bigger player guards him he's going to have to tear him up w/speed. When that happens...:wow

[rjv]

hill needs to be a solid PG back up this year and pop knows this. if hill can spell tony well then pop can keep mason and manu from having to play any time at the 1 spot.

[admiralsnackbar]

you fall to all the Mason hype, he is not good enough for that level, he only can shoot the 3 without doing anything else on offense and he can't play defense, and against the real defenses of the playoff his 3 point shooting also not existent, so yes i for sure redder give his minutes to Hill and Bogans!

You fall to all the Hill hype -- if he's playing shooting guard most of the game, he won't be playing his primary role: back-up PG.

[HarlemHeat37]

There are a good amount of teams(starting units) that Hill can play the 2 against..he can play SG vs. Ray Allen IMO, Ray is too slow to beat him, and he isn't big enough to give George problems..Charlotte would be fine, Cleveland would be fine, Dallas(vs. Terry), Denver, Detroit, LAC, Memphis, New Jersey, Phoenix..

Playing him against guys like Kobe, Vince, Roy, Joe Johnson, and others of that caliber wouldn't work at all, so we'll potentially have trouble defending those teams, since Finley/Mason are still liabilities, and RJ can't defend 2 guys at once..

[wildbill2u]

Okay, so I know we've all been using the word "beast" for DeJuan Blair, and rightfully so. Blair has had an amazing preseason, showing an incredible aptitude at pulling in rebounds and creating SpursTalk threads, and we expect great things out of him in the regular season. However, I invite you to take a step back and look closer at the preseason George Hill has been having:

Oct. 6 vs. Houston: 15 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds in 30 minutes
Oct. 9 vs. Olympiacos: 17 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds in 22 minutes
Oct. 11 at Miami: 12 points, 1 assist, 2 rebounds in 18 minutes
Oct. 14 vs. LA Clippers: 13 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds in 29 minutes
Oct. 16 vs. Cleveland: 13 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound in 25 minutes
Oct. 20 at Oklahoma City: 16 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound in in 18 minutes

He's done all this while shooting 26 for 47 (55.3%) from the field, 26 for 31 (83.9%) from the free throw line, and 8 for 13 (61.5%) from three-point range.

While George has spawned a few threads this preseason, it's time to truly appreciate how special a player he could become for this team. We already knew he had the potential to be a great defender; if he can throw in a solid offensive game, he has the potential to be, as far as all-around game goes, the third best guard on this team.

Good catch and good info we should all respect. No wonder Pop likes this kid. :toast

[Agloco]

Yet another example of the utter incompetence of the Spurs' FO.

:lol

[Agloco]

you fall to all the Mason hype, he is not good enough for that level, he only can shoot the 3 without doing anything else on offense and he can't play defense, and against the real defenses of the playoff his 3 point shooting also not existent, so yes i for sure redder give his minutes to Hill and Bogans!

:lmao:lmao:lmao
:wtf:wtf:wtf

[HarlemHeat37]

:lmao:lmao:lmao
:wtf:wtf:wtf

:lol

[Agloco]

:lol

Seriously though. I was lol and wtf at the same time.

[HarlemHeat37]

LOL I didn't notice that he said that until you "redded" it for me..

[Manufan909]

:lmao:lmao:lmao
:wtf:wtf:wtf

Dude, who's the senorita in your sig???:hitit:

[lefty]

Hill Billy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kobyz]

:lmao:lmao:lmao
:wtf:wtf:wtf

Bogans is 10 times better defender than Mason and he is solid 3 point shooter, he is better fit for the Spurs system.
Mason is the opposite of what the Spurs system represent - very bad defender without basketball IQ.

[kobyz]

You fall to all the Hill hype -- if he's playing shooting guard most of the game, he won't be playing his primary role: back-up PG.

he will play all back up minutes at PG and he will also shere the Mason minutes at SG(of course based on match ups) - he is better option than Mason at SG any time!

[SpurNation]

Hill's defense on Westbrook was impressive last night. It was like watching a different player, really. He showed confidence, tenacity and a great shooting touch. He only had one bad trip, where he dribbled down the clock looking for options on the wing and then hoisted a heat-check. Otherwise, George was the most complete player (offense and defense) for the Spurs.

Thanks for the info. Without being able to actually see the performances of all the players...this is great news going into the regular season.

[NFGIII]

He looked so good tonight that I think the Spurs should trade Jefferson and Parker for LeBron. Start George at point and then we will have a line up of:

Hill
Manu
LeBron
Duncan
Blair

In all seriousness DeJuan Blair has really over-shadowed how much George Hill has improved. Come the regular season our second line up of Hill Manu and Blair is going to be crazy. Throw in Hairston and our second group is better than some teams starting line ups. Namely the Bucks.

This is really good to see since most good to great players make significant improvement in their sophmore year. Hopefully this preseason performance will continue on into the regular season which I believe will happen. Most of the time players who haven't made substantial leaps in production usually stay around thier rookie/soph levels for the rest of their careers IMHO. There are exceptions but I look at a player's improvement in thier 2nd year as a pretty good indicator of things to come from them.


All of which makes Pop's decision to inexplicably bench Hill in favor of Mason, as backup PG, all the more a head-scratcher - especially for a coach of his brilliance. The fact that Mason sucked, in that role, made that decision one of the dumbest moves Pop has made in many years - if ever. Pop simply overthought that decision.

It was obvious to all last year, and it's even more obvious this year, that Hill is a player. The kid can play and play really well.

Yeah, I agree that it was frustrating to watch what happened to George last year but in retrospect even if Hill had gotten those minutes I don't think we were going anywhere last year, which doesn't excuse Pop from relying on his "vet first - rookie second" mentality. But give him the credit for changing his ways on this.

He may be stubborn but not stupid. Among other things he needs Hill to back up TP and play well for the Spurs to make a deep run in the playoffs this year.


The potential showed it's flashes last year...but now he is wide open. Hill is going to be our most important bench player of all the players not named Ginobili.

Agreed. Mason is still looking very limited and has potential to become not much more than a gunner off the bench. Hill could wind up with a lot more minutes at SG...which would be fine with me because even though Mason is bigger, Hill is by far the better all around player. With enough minutes, it might be hard to ignore him in the sixth man of the year discussions. :hat

Agreed but Mason still has a fairly important role to play for the Spurs. And there is nothing wrong with being a gunner coming off the bench in this league, especially if you have a penchant for hitting the winning shot at the end of the game. Just don't play him at PG and expect good things to happen. Hopefully that experiment has died and been buried.

[mosdef17]

I think the greatest thing for me (well one of) is to see that he has finally found a shooting stroke. We all remember how bad he was shooting during last years Summer League (wasn't he like 13%). I know people go throw shooting funks but that was just nasty. Preseason he is now 55%, 62%, 84% from FG, FT, 3PT respectively. Very positive sign that George is either taking much better shots and thus has matured majorly as a player or he has simply improved his jump shot and is becoming a guy that can't be ignored on defense.

[barbacoataco]

Hill scored a lot of points in college. Now that he is getting adjusted to the pro game he is finding a way to translate that to the NBA.

[Agloco]

Dude, who's the senorita in your sig???:hitit:

Same lady as always: Paloma Fiuza

[Mr.Robinson]

This is really good to see since most good to great players make significant improvement in their sophmore year. Hopefully this preseason performance will continue on into the regular season which I believe will happen. Most of the time players who haven't made substantial leaps in production usually stay around thier rookie/soph levels for the rest of their careers IMHO. There are exceptions but I look at a player's improvement in thier 2nd year as a pretty good indicator of things to come from them.



Yeah, I agree that it was frustrating to watch what happened to George last year but in retrospect even if Hill had gotten those minutes I don't think we were going anywhere last year, which doesn't excuse Pop from relying on his "vet first - rookie second" mentality. But give him the credit for changing his ways on this.

He may be stubborn but not stupid. Among other things he needs Hill to back up TP and play well for the Spurs to make a deep run in the playoffs this year.



Agreed but Mason still has a fairly important role to play for the Spurs. And there is nothing wrong with being a gunner coming off the bench in this league, especially if you have a penchant for hitting the winning shot at the end of the game. Just don't play him at PG and expect good things to happen. Hopefully that experiment has died and been buried.

You really think Pops thought Mason could play point? If anything Pops did it to help Mason's game. Pops knew they weren't winning without Manu. It wasn't an experiment.
Hill needs to continue playing like he is now. I'll be happy if Mason and Hill both get 20 mins a game. We have options now. Playing time will be depending on match ups.
I hope to see this team the most.
Parker
Manu
Jefferson
McDyess
Duncan

[spursfan1000]

Great for him and the Spurs, if Parker gets hurt or Mason we wont have to worry much. He really showed us how well he could do last year when he filled in for Parker.

[Manufan909]

I think the greatest thing for me (well one of) is to see that he has finally found a shooting stroke. We all remember how bad he was shooting during last years Summer League (wasn't he like 13%). I know people go throw shooting funks but that was just nasty. Preseason he is now 55%, 62%, 84% from FG, FT, 3PT respectively. Very positive sign that George is either taking much better shots and thus has matured majorly as a player or he has simply improved his jump shot and is becoming a guy that can't be ignored on defense.

So you're telling he is shooting better at 3s than anything else? He is not making 4 of 5 3s my friend, you mixed up your percentages. 62, 84, and 55 sound better. But maybe his 2FG% is worse than his 3FG%, Idk.

I apologize in advance if you are right, those numbers just seem off.

[Mel_13]

FG% .553

3pt% .615

FT% .839

http://www.nba.com/spurs/stats/

[Manufan909]

Hells yeah, I guessed right!!! And not to compare Blair and Hill, but Blair is .596 FG, .645 on FT, and grabs 8.2 boards in 18 minutes.

[lurker23]

Bump.

Oct. 23 at Indiana: 21 points (7/10 from field, 1/2 from 3-point range, 6/9 from FT line), 5 rebounds, 1 assist.

[TDMVPDPOY]

where that hater at

[angelbelow]

Damn... another great game... I hope someone makes a highlight video and post it on youtube :)

[phxspurfan]

Too bad Granger, another new-NBAer (tall, strong, jumps out of the gym) pwned the Spurs D again.

[Mel_13]

Too bad Granger, another new-NBAer (tall, strong, jumps out of the gym) pwned the Spurs D again.

Really? he shot 10-29

[DPG21920]

Well giving up 114 is not good. This pre season has been a little disappointing, but to be expected with the new guys and strange line ups and rotations.

[Manufan909]

Granger is new??? And shooting a bit over 33% is never pwnage. EVER.

[mountainballer]

Well giving up 114 is not good. This pre season has been a little disappointing, but to be expected with the new guys and strange line ups and rotations.

?disappointing?
first off, I can't remember that Pop ever used the pre season for more than what it is: practice sessions with another team, good enough to try some things and get a look at new guys.
outside Hill no player played more than 20 MPG.
By a minute base Blair was by far the best rookie in the pre season!
as noticed, Hill looked fantastic most of the time and suddenly also shows a promising shooting ability.
Hairston played a very good and effective pre season. if they keep him, (what I guess meanwhile the whole board hopes) it will be because of this performances.
what more do we want? I remember quite a few pre seasons with much less promising news.

[DPG21920]

The promise is good, but the fact RJ has been a little tentative and Haislip and Ian have shown very little along with the fact that the man to man defense has been lacking has been disappointing to me.

Like I said, I understand the situation, but a few things that I felt were going to be much improved immediately were not.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Any time George has a point total from 16 to 20+ points, a big chunk of it almost always comes from the free throw line.

Now, my major concern, is
can he get to the free throw line consistently, and more importantly, on the road?
If he can, we're looking at a great player here.

[mountainballer]

I didn't expect much from Ian and Haislip (ok, I expected more from Haislip, but not a stupendous achievement) so this didn't worry me.
defense will be a concern for several months, but I do think it will be better when it counts.
(and I expect a deadline move for either a legit defensive wing or big)
offensive potential looked pretty good. and JR will be fine. obviously Pop gives him time to find his niche. and his shooting looked pretty good, that's the 1st question about any Spurs wing.
I'm absolutely not concerned, but I'm prepared we won't start like 20-2. this team will need some time to grow.

[Interrohater]

Damn... another great game... I hope someone makes a highlight video and post it on youtube :)
:lol with what video?

[EricB]

The promise is good, but the fact RJ has been a little tentative and Haislip and Ian have shown very little along with the fact that the man to man defense has been lacking has been disappointing to me.

Like I said, I understand the situation, but a few things that I felt were going to be much improved immediately were not.


Dear god take a drink and chill the fuck out.

[DPG21920]

Dear god take a drink and chill the fuck out.

Coming from the guy who tells people to "drink drain-o". :lol

I was not jumping off a bridge, just making simple observation about certain things.

I was really rooting for Ian (and I am one of his biggest supporters) and he has been a little disappointing. This just pertains to me, not everyone. Just certain things I was looking for during pre-season.

[Interrohater]

I was really rooting for Ian (and I am one of his biggest supporters) and he has been a little disappointing. This just pertains to me, not everyone. Just certain things I was looking for during pre-season.
I always seem to forget that he had a full year off of basketball, he's still going to take some time to regain his rhythm. I hope. I mean, playing amongst the best players in the world and you take a year off? And to still come back mediocre, to me, says that maybe he still hasn't been able to show us what he really has.

I know, i know, I'm tired of it too, but maybe we just need to have patience with him.

[DPG21920]

I am not tired of it. I expected him to be rusty, but I don't think the Spurs FO office cares about all of that. Pop said some positive things recently, but I am not sure how they feel. We will see on Oct. 31.

Hill has looked great though and that helps a ton.

[Leetonidas]

Too bad Granger, another new-NBAer (tall, strong, jumps out of the gym) pwned the Spurs D again.

Uh...he's been in the league for years now, averaged 25 last year and 19 the year before. Granger isn't new.