Wes Matthews Vs George Hill

[Em-City]

Just wondering... Who do you think is a better player right now, and who do you think will have a better career in the long term?
:toast

[LeCrab]

George hill.... one knock on wes matthews is he sometimes has bad shot selection and will take to many 3's

[8FOR!3]

George Hill.

[tdunk21]

george hill.......but mathews is a better defender than hill

[Truckules]

Right now, Matthews. Long term, my head says Matthews, my heart says Hill.

[Ditty]

I was hoping the spurs could of signed Matthews over the summer great defender(played great on parker and ginobili today) plus a hometown kid seemed exactly like a spurs type player..a george hill and wesley matthews backcourt would of been a nice thing looking foward into the future, but I'm still hoping James Anderson will turn into the same player, who has shown alot of flashes as being as good and a better shooter, and decent defender.

better player right now probably Matthews better defender than Hill, and can shoot 3's anywhere on the line consistently. I think there even when it comes to creating offense. I think Matthews will become a great player if they rest of his team can get it together up in Portland.

[SenorSpur]

Agree that Matthews IS the better player right now. I watched today's game and got the Blazers broadcast team. They indicated the Matthews is currently shooting nearly 50% from the arc. Amazing.

Right now, Hill is still a bit too one-dimensional on the offensive end. He still looks ONLY for his offense - sometimes at the expense of open shooters. He's a very capable defender, but no where near where Matthews is now.

[Nathan89]

On George Hill the Heat would kill for him to be on their team. Damn shame they don't know how to draft. Just benefit from Location..Location..Location...

[TDMVPDPOY]

wes mathews takes too many shots then the franchise player....

[ElNono]

I think they're both excellent role-players. If you base your view only on this game, then you'll get a flawed perception. Matthews has been really good for Portland, and George has played well for us lately after a slow start.

[Yorae]

Is Matthews undrafted?

[Pauleta14]

Matthews is at the present time a more confident player, but the more I see Hill, the more I think "the sky is his limit"...

If, as Pop wants, he develops the same "killer instinct" at scoring as Tony and Manu...... I wan't wait!

[8FOR!3]

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter who I'd rather have on the Spurs. Fact is, the Spurs have George Hill and that in itself puts him ahead of Wesley Matthews in my opinion. We rock at developing guards, Pop is the best at it.

[DesignatedT]

I'd say there about even. Matthews is a good player and George is improving by the game.

Matthews got a nice pay day this off-season, probably close to a contract that George will receive in the near future.. I believe it was like 5 years 35 mil.

They're pretty similar tbh

[SpursDynasty85]

I would take Wes mathews by a hair because he is just physically alot stronger and a better 3 point shooter.

[Em-City]

I think matthews is the more skillful player, but as mentioned, Spurs coaching staff might give hill the edge in the long run...

that said, if i could trade hill for matthews right now, i'd do it.

[JonNOKC]

Agree that Matthews IS the better player right now. I watched today's game and got the Blazers broadcast team. They indicated the Matthews is currently shooting nearly 50% from the arc. Amazing.

Right now, Hill is still a bit too one-dimensional on the offensive end. He still looks ONLY for his offense - sometimes at the expense of open shooters. He's a very capable defender, but no where near where Matthews is now.

For the record Hill is shooting (40%) on the year to Matthews (37%) - I think Matthews can guard more positions effectively than Hill but don't think either guy really separates himself much in any category at the moment, while Matthews is avg 2.5 pts a game more than Hill I think that mainly reflects Blazers needing Matthews to score night in/out and Hill's early season slump - both are pretty one dimensional players (partly due to limited handles), but Hill has ability to play PG which is a plus over Matthews as well - long term Hill has a clear advantage offensively as he is a better ball handler and finisher now, also better creator of offense - in these areas Hill should only widen the gap. Of course Hill will never be 6'5 - anyway I will choose Hill and here are a few other numbers:

In 90 more minutes of play of Matthews has 2 fewer FT attempts, 5 fewer makes, 16 less assists, 11 more TO, 2 more steals, surprised by 4 fewer blocks, 13 more rebounds, and committed 10 more fouls.

Bottom line their PER stats would be extremely similar in just about every facet of their games - the advantage goes to Hill for me simply because eventually I think he will be able to create offense for others on a fairly consistent basis, and just don't see that becoming part of Matthews game

[Cry Havoc]

For the record Hill is shooting (40%) on the year to Matthews (37%) - I think Matthews can guard more positions effectively than Hill but don't think either guy really separates himself much in any category at the moment, while Matthews is avg 2.5 pts a game more than Hill I think that mainly reflects Blazers needing Matthews to score night in/out and Hill's early season slump - both are pretty one dimensional players (partly due to limited handles), but Hill has ability to play PG which is a plus over Matthews as well - long term Hill has a clear advantage offensively as he is a better ball handler and finisher now, also better creator of offense - in these areas Hill should only widen the gap. Of course Hill will never be 6'5 - anyway I will choose Hill and here are a few other numbers:

In 90 more minutes of play of Matthews has 2 fewer FT attempts, 5 fewer makes, 16 less assists, 11 more TO, 2 more steals, surprised by 4 fewer blocks, 13 more rebounds, and committed 10 more fouls.

Bottom line their PER stats would be extremely similar in just about every facet of their games - the advantage goes to Hill for me simply because eventually I think he will be able to create offense for others on a fairly consistent basis, and just don't see that becoming part of Matthews game

To take the other side of the argument, Matthews had no idea he was going to be a major player in the Blazer rotation early. He got very spotty minutes earlier in the season, and had several games where he didn't play more than 14 minutes. Since November 13th, he has only posted two games of non-double digit scoring. He also gets a few boards a game and has really been ramping up his steals lately -- he had 4 against Phoenix.

I think Hill is probably a more polished player, but Matthews is a better shooter. Although Hill has been really hot of late. :flag:

One thing that's really encouraging about Hill is that he's shooting 85+% from the stripe this season. That's usually an indicator of a guy who isn't just "hot" or has a lucky hand, but characteristic of an actually "good" shooter, because free throw mechanics often extend to proper form when shooting while being defended. Matthews has shot 82% at the line so far. So let's hope that stats prove me wrong here.

[TDMVPDPOY]

ghill3 seems like a slower version of AI with longer arms without the attitude...

[TJastal]

ghill3 seems like a slower version of AI with longer arms without the attitude...

And without the ego and stupidity.

Which reminds me that another huge advantage Hill has over Matthews is quickness and speed in the open court which few players in the league can match.

[TJastal]

It's a close call, Matthews is a good SG (who could backup RJ too) but Hill's point guard skills give him a slight edge IMO. Right now, he fits what the spurs are doing better than Matthews would.

Hill's ceiling (as a PG/playmaker) is still higher in the long run. Matthews has reached his peak and I would be surprised to see any more improvement. For this reason alone I would not trade Hill for Matthews, And the spurs would not need Matthews' offense nearly as much as Portland does so his main talent as a scorer would not be fully appreciated.

[InRareForm]

It's a close call, Matthews is a good SG (who could backup RJ too) but Hill's point guard skills give him a slight edge IMO. Right now, he fits what the spurs are doing better than Matthews would.

Hill's ceiling (as a PG/playmaker) is still higher in the long run. Matthews has reached his peak and I would be surprised to see any more improvement. For this reason alone I would not trade Hill for Matthews, And the spurs would not need Matthews' offense nearly as much as Portland does so his main talent as a scorer would not be fully appreciated.

absolutely

[Cry Havoc]

It's a close call, Matthews is a good SG (who could backup RJ too) but Hill's point guard skills give him a slight edge IMO. Right now, he fits what the spurs are doing better than Matthews would.

Hill's ceiling (as a PG/playmaker) is still higher in the long run. Matthews has reached his peak and I would be surprised to see any more improvement. For this reason alone I would not trade Hill for Matthews, And the spurs would not need Matthews' offense nearly as much as Portland does so his main talent as a scorer would not be fully appreciated.

Great take.

The main difference for me, IMO, is that Hill can get to the rim against almost any team in the league. Matthews is a great shooter but he can't penetrate like Hill can. A first step is an incredibly difficult thing to develop after you get to the NBA, and Hill has excellent skills in that department. It's much easier to be an effective passer when you are drawing a double team from the opposing big man as opposed to looking for an open player while single covered at the free throw line extended.

[Spurs Brazil]

Hill sank three 3-pointers as he stretched his streak of double-figure games to 11. It’s the longest streak of double-figure games his career as he’s averaged 15.6 points, shot 50.5 percent from the field, 50 percent from behind the 3-point arc and hit 89.8 percent of his foul shots. Confidence is becoming a key part of his offensive arsenal.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/12/12/notes-on-a-scorecard-the-spurs-are-playing-defense-like-they-used-to/

[cheguevara]

in the last 5 games I'd take Hill hands down

[SpursRulez4eVeR]

Give me a break, Matthews is not even close to Hill....He plays for a crap team and his game is all behind the arc.

:rolleyes

[Josepatches_]

Give me a break, Matthews is not even close to Hill....He plays for a crap team and his game is all behind the arc.

This.

[Cry Havoc]

Give me a break, Matthews is not even close to Hill....He plays for a crap team and his game is all behind the arc.

So Blake Griffin << Tiago Splitter because Griffin plays for the Clippers? That's an odd take.

[Sigz]

I was hoping the spurs could of signed Matthews over the summer great defender(played great on parker and ginobili today) plus a hometown kid seemed exactly like a spurs type player..a george hill and wesley matthews backcourt would of been a nice thing looking foward into the future, but I'm still hoping James Anderson will turn into the same player, who has shown alot of flashes as being as good and a better shooter, and decent defender.

better player right now probably Matthews better defender than Hill, and can shoot 3's anywhere on the line consistently. I think there even when it comes to creating offense. I think Matthews will become a great player if they rest of his team can get it together up in Portland.

Matthews may have been born in SA, but his real hometown is here in Madison, WI. We played soccer together at Memorial HS.

[mingus]

Hill, when he's confident and not passive. When he plays with confidence and doesn't defer, he's a better player. My problem with Hill is that he loses confidence way too easily. He'll have to come up big in some of the more diificult away games for me to pick him over Mathews. I'm still not sold on the fact that the Hill we've seen in these last 11 games is the Hill we can expect for the whole season and playoffs. I'm not totally sure he won't revert back to how he played in the beginning of the season.

[ChuckD]

Agree that Matthews IS the better player right now. I watched today's game and got the Blazers broadcast team. They indicated the Matthews is currently shooting nearly 50% from the arc. Amazing.

Right now, Hill is still a bit too one-dimensional on the offensive end. He still looks ONLY for his offense - sometimes at the expense of open shooters. He's a very capable defender, but no where near where Matthews is now.

Don't believe everything you hear. Wes is shooting 37% from the arc, to Hill's 40%.

[ChuckD]

I would take Wes mathews by a hair because he is just physically alot stronger and a better 3 point shooter.
No he's not. Don't believe everything you read or hear. Check the official stats.

[ChuckD]

The big advantage for Hill is that he's always produced well in limited minutes. Matthews struggled mightily until Roy went down and he got essentially starter's minutes. He's also grossly overpaid at the MLE.