George Hill: Entering the 2009 offseason

[lurker23]

Just a few of the questions that need to be addressed as the Spurs' rookie enters his first full offseason and second season as a pro:

1. How would you rate his rookie season on the whole?
2. What do you see as Hill's role going into the future?
3. What aspects of Hill's game does he need to work on the most?
4. Did Hill's play in the latter half of the Mavericks' series prove that Pop was wrong about his potential poise under pressure? Perhaps more importantly, do you feel that he improved his standing in Pop's mind going into next season and post-season?

[timtonymanu]

1. Underused. he was inconsistent though but that's due to the inconsistent amount of minutes he received. on the whole, he's the best rookie the Spurs have had since Manu came.

2. It all depends on Pop. I see it going bigger since he already has one year under his belt. He should be playing the back-up point next year.

3. His confidence and shooting. He needs to not be afraid of making plays and he needs to work on his jumper and his drives. His defense and rebounding is great though.

4. It was too short of a time to tell, but I hope it did make Pop think. He definitely made Pop think bigger of him but then again Pop has shown us this season that he thinks the opposite of us.

[AussieFanKurt]

I just want to see the big fella more last season, from what i saw of him at the start when tony was out, i was more than impressed.
He's a spark of energy that we very much need

[lurker23]

1. How would you rate his rookie season on the whole?
2. What do you see as Hill's role going into the future?
3. What aspects of Hill's game does he need to work on the most?
4. Did Hill's play in the latter half of the Mavericks' series prove that Pop was wrong about his potential poise under pressure? Perhaps more importantly, do you feel that he improved his standing in Pop's mind going into next season and post-season?

I'll start off with my answers to these questions.

1. A-. George surprised many Spurs followers (and NBA followers in general) with his play in the beginning of the season that rivaled all rookies (including Derrick Rose), at least on a per minute basis. He did hit a bit of a rookie wall and struggled on the offensive end in the second half, some of this before his demotion out of the backup PG position, and some afterwards, but all in all you have to consider this a very successful season for George.

2. For next season, I'd like to see him as the sole backup PG (which would get him 8-15 minutes on any given night), and then get another 5-20 minutes at the SG position next to Tony Parker, depending on how well he's performing that night and in general. I think this combo guard slot could be his long term role too.

3. Obviously Hill needs to focus on the offensive end. Specifically, I think he needs to learn how to get involved in the offense when he's not running the point. Also, working with Chip Engelland a lot over the offseason will help him immensely.

4. I think on some level, George performed the way many of us said he could if given the opportunity. The caveats about his offense still apply, but defensively he showed a lot of poise. As far as Pop's end of the equation goes, only time will tell, but I expect George to be fully immersed into the rotation come April 2010.

[TDMVPDPOY]

his stats > benos rookie season

but if you look at utilizing him compared to benos rookie season, he was clearly misused and under untilize. benos first year he played so many games and was involved in alot of playoff games, where else hill got the end of the stick for no reason, pop.

[HarlemHeat37]

1- I'd rank it very high, considering where he was picked..he surprised me this year, and he showed his potential..

2- I see him as a combo guard, and as a defensive stopper..he'll have those roles down for a long time..

3- Hill needs to continue growing in confidence, he needs to improve his shooting, and he needs to finish more aggressively at the rim..more dunk attempts instead of layups, since his athleticism would at least allow him to draw a foul..

4- Pop was wrong about this for the most part, although George did show some flaws that Pop was concerned about..I've always felt that Pop liked him and would let him grow in the future when he matured more in the future, so his play in the playoffs didn't change my mind..

[HarlemHeat37]

Hill is much, much better as a prospect than Beno..

George is already a good defender at the toughest position to defend..he's also tough-minded, and he's athletic..

[Sean Cagney]

HILL is that dude, he will get it together and be a huge part of the team next year off the bench. He proved that the last two games, POP was wrong about him.

[GSH]

During that early stretch when Tony was out, and the team had no choice, Hill looked pretty freaking good at the point. And Mason looked pretty freaking good at the two. And the offense looked smooth, and it was fun to watch the team play. Most of the games this season made me want to pull my hair out.

I'm not sure how a guy goes from good enough to make that happen to not worth bringing off the bench. Maybe it's all on Hill himself, and maybe it isn't. But I think a portion of his difficulties were beyond his control.

He's quick and defends extremely well. He's fearless, and he never quits hustling. He fights for rebounds, and even picks up some nice blocks. He needs to work on finishing at the basket, and not picking up so many cheap rookie fouls. But I'm not sure that any of that matters, if Pop has a negative opinion of him. He needs to go have a successful career somewhere else, and come back when he's old.

[polandprzem]

He is just a norm when it comes to rookie. He is not the high shelf like Rose is like other high picks were.
He went through many new situations, some rookie walls etc.

That's why he made mistakes, but he seems to be the guy who will improve his play and he may earn a starter position in his career.

He needs to handle the defensive schems better and try not to do mistakes, many time he looked lost/

The most important thing he must lear is where to be on offensive end. There were many times he just was disturbing spurs static play. he would be great in a team like Golden State. But this is spurs he must find a fit. It will be hard under Pops system but oh well. maybe Pop will change something to adopt more to players, not forcing players to adopt to the system.

Good luck Hill I'll be cheering for you.

[TDMVPDPOY]

i think had ghill had the starting pg role all season, his rookie season could be better than parkers rookie season....

[holcs50]

Hill is much, much better as a prospect than Beno..

George is already a good defender at the toughest position to defend..he's also tough-minded, and he's athletic..

Beno is the most overpaid player in the nba. He's really awful if you look at how many minutes he gets and the numbers he puts up. George did very well this year considering he was being yanked around by pop all the time. I think he's just gotta work on his drives and jump shot a little. Now he knows how the NBA season rolls, and has seen the playoffs, all of this will help his confidence...i think he knows he can score and be a good player.

[NewJerSpur]

First, I'd just like to say that this was a good thread idea Lurker and well-formatted; you could actually make one up for all of the newcomers to the team annually after the season is done with to add some structure to the criticism (especially for those getting dumped on).

I myself have my thoughts on Mr. Hill.....but I'm going to post them here a little later after I have some sweet championship dreams about next season.

[AussieFanKurt]

Hills detirmination to get better will be obvious

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Just a few of the questions that need to be addressed as the Spurs' rookie enters his first full offseason and second season as a pro:

1. How would you rate his rookie season on the whole?
2. What do you see as Hill's role going into the future?
3. What aspects of Hill's game does he need to work on the most?
4. Did Hill's play in the latter half of the Mavericks' series prove that Pop was wrong about his potential poise under pressure? Perhaps more importantly, do you feel that he improved his standing in Pop's mind going into next season and post-season?

1. Much better than expected, more guts and heart than game, but he seems to have a good head on his shoulders, so it seems he'll improve.

2. Backup PG + minutes on the wing, his long arms allow him to play against taller players. I'd love to see him on the court with the big 3 more.

3. Obviously shooting, also playing the point better and not allowing the offense to stagnate. If he plays with Manu in the second unit, most of these problems will be concealed.

4. Don't think his game duting the Dallas series has changed Pop's mind about him. I'm sure his role in the team next year will be bigger.

[temujin]

He never played the 1 before, but his role as a NBA player is clearly the 1.
He did extremely well with Parker out.
As a backup 1, he has one of the top 3 of the game in front of him.
That means very limited playing time.
He also has a coach that has obvious problems with backup 1, for whatever reasons.

Translation.

If I were Hill, I would ask to be traded ASAP.

Don't ask what Hill can do for the Spurs,
ask why he should waste another year with the Spurs.

[kace]

Hill is a great pick for the spurs. without a doubt.

A lot of people were thinking he could be the savior for the spurs these PO and that was just false and not reasonable. he played with poise against the mavs but still was 3-9 (9 points) and 0 ass in 30+ minutes. almost a non-factor and still a loss for the spurs.

the next year is the one where he should see consistent playing time and confirm all the good things we expect from him. i see two reasons to be very optimistic about his future with the spurs (outside his skills which are the main reason of course):

1) he was able to change Pop's mind about him and "forced" him to be used in the PO. it's a good sign. Last time a rookie kinda "force" Pop to go through his reluctance to play rookies, it was tony being a starter PG after 5 game in the RS.

2) he can play alongside tony on the court.
Tony will play 33 mpg in RS and 38 in PO. that's 15 and 10 mpg left for Hill. not really a lot to make an big impact. but hill's skills (and tony's ones) allow him to see PT with tony. thanks to that, he could play 20+ mpg consistently.


2009-2010 will be great for the kid.

[polandprzem]

1) he was able to change Pop's mind about him and "forced" him to be used in the PO. it's a good sign. Last time a rookie kinda "force" Pop to go through his reluctance to play rookies, it was tony being a starter PG after 5 game in the RS.

The question is if Pop was thinking "well there was nobody who could bring anything to the table so I had to put a damn rookie on the floor" or "Cool Gorgie proved me wrong"


btw. I was sure Pop will have to use Hill at some point during that series.


PS. playoffs are over ...

[poop]

hopefully Hill will WANT to still play for us after his epic snubbing by pop.

[kace]

The question is if Pop was thinking "well there was nobody who could bring anything to the table so I had to put a damn rookie on the floor" or "Cool Gorgie proved me wrong"

good point. i think it's pretty safe to say that the level of suckiness of the others role players helped Hill to see some time on the court.

hopefully Hill will WANT to still play for us after his epic snubbing by pop.

WTF ????

Hill is still a rookie who should be grantful to have been drafted by a great team like the spurs. He saw some PT overall this season, has been praised several time by Pop and some of his teamates, will hopefully play for a real contenders that will be the spurs next year with great players. he has nothing to complain about.

[TDMVPDPOY]

Hill is a great pick for the spurs. without a doubt.

A lot of people were thinking he could be the savior for the spurs these PO and that was just false and not reasonable. he played with poise against the mavs but still was 3-9 (9 points) and 0 ass in 30+ minutes. almost a non-factor and still a loss for the spurs.

1) he was able to change Pop's mind about him and "forced" him to be used in the PO. it's a good sign. Last time a rookie kinda "force" Pop to go through his reluctance to play rookies, it was tony being a starter PG after 5 game in the RS.

3-9 9pts is still better production than the we got from bonner+finley+mason combined for last few games....

2005 benos rookie playoff campaign, did pretty well against the nuggets, sonics, suns but was shut down against the pistons....still better than nothing, then the following season pop just dusts him under the carpet for no reason base on one series cause he cant bring the ball up court and too buzy with his private lifestyle

[kace]

3-9 9pts is still better production than the we got from bonner+finley+mason combined for last few games....

2005 benos rookie playoff campaign, did pretty well against the nuggets, sonics, suns but was shut down against the pistons....still better than nothing, then the following season pop just dusts him under the carpet for no reason base on one series cause he cant bring the ball up court and too buzy with his private lifestyle

OK. but do you think since then Beno has proved he could be a consistent, poised player able to compete in the big stage. i don't think so. maybe Pop wasn't so wrong about him after all.

Hill could (should) be different.

[FaithInOne]

This dude is going to be sick next year. His defense & speed alone gets me anxious for 09-10.

Pop needs to wake the up.

[TDMVPDPOY]

OK. but do you think since then Beno has proved he could be a consistent, poised player able to compete in the big stage. i don't think so. maybe Pop wasn't so wrong about him after all.

Hill could (should) be different.

as a backup pg for around 3m? yeh sure why not

but the kings overpaid him MLE, and from his form this year, look like overpaid and overrated.

[ploto]

Hill is much, much better as a prospect than Beno..

George is already a good defender at the toughest position to defend..he's also tough-minded, and he's athletic..

Beno is a better PG in terms of his passing and court vision.

Hill is a better defender by far.