Indy's Hill thrives in new role, sixth man, for Spurs
Ex-Broad Ripple/IUPUI star gives one of NBA's elite teams a big spark as 6th man
George Hill finds himself in a new role in his third year in the NBA, and it's a key one with the San Antonio Spurs.
Hill has been moved to the sixth-man spot and is expected to be a scoring spark off the bench.
The former Broad Ripple High School and IUPUI star has responded by averaging 11.2 points in 28 minutes per game, helping the Spurs (29-6) to the best record in the NBA.
"I really didn't know until the start of the season," said Hill, a guard who started 43 games last year. "I'm still part of the main rotation, and it's not about how you start the game, it's about how you finish.
"I just continue to play the same way I've been playing, and I've been a good second-half player."
Hill takes over the role previously held by Manu Ginobili, who is now a starter and the Spurs' leading scorer. Hill is fifth on the Spurs in scoring, behind Ginobili, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Richard Jefferson.
Hill will play his only game this season in his hometown tonight when the Spurs face the Pacers (14-18).
"He's done very well for us. He's been very important to the season," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He plays with a passion at both ends. He's one of our better defenders. He's learned to become more aggressive.
"He's such a team-oriented guy, from time to time I have to remind him he has the skills to score and doesn't have to defer to other people."
Hill tied for second in the voting for NBA's Most Improved Player last season. Ginobili won the league's Sixth Man of the Year in 2008, when he averaged 19.5 points.
Ginobili gave Hill a brief bit of advice about the role.
"He said he went out and played like he was a starter," Hill said. "It's about preparing yourself, knowing that you're not going to start, that you're going to come off the bench around six minutes or so in and you have to have a strong impact on the game."
At the end of last season, there was considerable discussion on whether Hill should be a full-time starter after he averaged 13.4 points in 10 playoff games, eight of them as a starter.
Popovich said he switched the lineup because he felt Ginobili deserved to be a starter at this point in his career and Hill would excel off the bench.
The Spurs often play Parker, Ginobili and Hill together.
"That's perfect for him because it allows him to be on the floor with the other two, and you're picking your poison," NBA.com analyst Sekou Smith said.
"He's such a good spot-up shooter on the perimeter. He's an intriguing matchup problem for a lot of teams that really can't match those three guys."
Hill, who met with friends and supporters Thursday night in Conseco Fieldhouse, had to get more than 150 tickets for tonight's game to accommodate players on his four youth basketball teams and their parents.
"He really takes this time as an opportunity to come back and hang out with these kids," said Mike Saunders, who coaches one of the teams. "He talks about school. The kids know, 'Hey, he did know I got an 'A' on that test.'
"No matter how much money he makes ($1.2 million this season), no matter how much people think about him in the NBA, he's the same guy and he truly cares about these kids."
Hansbrough starting
The Pacers' revolving door at power forward is about to take another turn.
Tyler Hansbrough will get his first start of the season tonight, becoming the fourth player to start at that position.
Coach Jim O'Brien hasn't been happy with scoring production at that position.
"Nobody is doing horribly. We're just not scoring, not getting to the foul line," O'Brien said. "I want to see how Tyler does from a starting job. I want to find out what my best combination is up front."
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San Antonio Spurs at Pacers
Mike Wells
Tipoff: 7 p.m. today, Conseco Fieldhouse.
TV: FSI.
Radio: WIBC-93.1 FM.
Pregame MVP: Ginobili scored 22 points in the Spurs' 13-point victory over the Pacers on opening night. He scored 20 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter against Boston on Wednesday.
Prediction: Spurs by nine. The Pacers are catching the Spurs at the wrong time as San Antonio is on a rare two-game losing streak. The Pacers have dropped four of their past five.
