Spurs' Hill didn't back down against Mayo
By Jeff McDonald
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Five months ago, rookie George Hill took the floor for his first summer league game in a Spurs uniform and was greeted with perhaps the toughest assignment he could have possibly received in the middle of July.
His draw that day was O.J. Mayo, the ballyhooed lottery pick of the Memphis Grizzlies, a preternatural scorer who could fill a basket as readily a kid playing Pop-A-Shot at Chuck E. Cheese.
For Hill, a somewhat anonymous guard out of a somewhat anonymous college called IUPUI, the task could have been cause for cold sweats. In the moments before he was set to undertake it, Hill found himself reflecting on a lesson from his childhood.
“My mom always told me when I was a kid you can never back down to anybody,” Hill said. “That's a sign of weakness, and I don't want to be the weak one.”
And then, Hill set out to prove as much to his new employers.
Mayo, who Memphis had made the third overall pick in the NBA draft a few weeks earlier, did score 18 points in that game. But Hill, selected 23 spots behind him, used his combination of defensive instinct and pterodactyl-like wingspan to harass Mayo into a 5-of-17 clang-fest.
While box score-gazing fans in San Antonio fretted about Hill's own 2-of-9 shooting line, the Spurs' coaching staff left that Las Vegas gym quietly convinced they had an NBA player on their hands.
“He proved to us that he could be an NBA defender,” said Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer, who coached the summer league squad. “That was Step 1. It was the first sign he could defend in the NBA.”
Hill and Mayo will reunite tonight at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. For both of them, life has only accelerated since their last meeting.
Mayo, to the surprise of nobody, has surfaced as an offensive force for the hapless Grizzlies. The 6-foot-4 combo guard from Southern California leads all NBA rookies at 20.2 points per game, and is the only first-year player to have cracked double figures in every contest.
With every passing day, Mayo is making Hill's summertime work against him look more and more remarkable.
“A lot of people had Mayo picked higher or whatever,” Hill said. “But you can't back down from anybody, and that's something I'll never do.”
Meanwhile, Hill — perhaps to the surprise of those who cringed at his ragged shooting during the summer — has blossomed into O.J. Mayo Lite.
Thrust into an expanded role after Tony Parker went down with an ankle sprain Nov. 7, Hill has helped pick up some of the scoring slack for the Spurs. He totes a 10.1-point scoring average into tonight's game, after setting new season highs in back-to-back outings (20 in a loss to Denver, 23 in Friday's victory over Utah).
Primarily a shoot-first off-guard in college, Hill is beginning to get comfortable with the nuances of being an NBA point guard.
“He's like a sponge,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He's learning constantly. He's figuring out the position and starting to see how the game is played.”
Certainly, Hill has already come a long way since his trial-by-fire introduction to the NBA in Las Vegas.
The inaugural marquee matchup of his NBA career might not have happened had it not been for a last-second lineup switch.
That day, Hill was originally slated to defend Mike Conley, a second-year Grizzlies guard and not nearly the explosive scorer Mayo was projected to be.
It was an assignment Hill had been relishing: He and Conley have been friends since their schoolboy days growing up in Indianapolis.
Instead, Memphis held Conley out of the game and Hill got Mayo. It turned out to be tough luck for Mayo.
At one point during their first mano-a-mano meeting, Hill denied his more high-profile counterpart on three consecutive possessions, causing Mayo to bark at him, half-playfully, “Take it easy, George. It's only summer league.”
And for Mayo, maybe that's all it was. For Hill, it was so much more. It was the day he learned he belonged in the NBA.
“I don't want to say George shut him down, but he made him take tough shots, and that's all we asked him to do,” Budenholzer said. “That's who George is. He doesn't get caught up in who he is playing, whether it's O.J. Mayo or some other great player.”
I gotta think Pop is going to put Hill back into the starting lineup. The Conley/Mayo backcourt is likely too quick to be guarded by a combination of Mason and Bowen. Putting Hill back into the starting lineup especially makes sense with the Bulls on tap for Wednesday. Derrick Rose needs to be guarded by Hill as much as possible.
It'll be really interesting to see what Pop decides but the matchups make the right decision pretty obvious ... to me, at least.
Pretty good article by Mcdonald for a change. Told me some things i didnt know 2 weeks prior to him writing it.
The barometer is high for him, isn't it?
yeah this gotta be one of mcdonalds better articles.
but he still sucks.
anybody remember the le of his article during lasts playoff run?
"to advance.. the spurs must win game 5" <-- something liek this.
captain obvious.
My favorite part of the whole article: "Hill is like a sponge". That is what you want to hear.
I loved it when Hill got tangled up with Marcus Camby, and Camby tried to give him a little intimidation shove. Hill didn't give an inch. He held his ground - and he looked like a guy who has been in the league for years, instead of a rookie. He got into Camby's head, instead of the other way around.
Of course, the best part was that we could see Duncan watching the whole thing from behind Camby, like somebody's big brother waiting to jump in if he was needed. Tim's eyeballs looked like something from the Exorcist, and I wondered if the back of Camby's head might start to smoke.
Hill has his first defensive test I suppose.
I think Hill will have a good night tonight. The dude is on a roll.
Mayo will light him up in revenge of what happened in Vegas... i don't think that will stay there...
Sadly some bags already stole what should be the le of George Hill's eventual biopic.
I'd bring Finley off the bench tonight
Mason on Conley
Hill on Mayo
Bruce on Gay
Dayumn
Can it be any worse for Bruce?
Yeah. Rudy is a tough cover.
You've been there before?
Let's just say I've seen him against the Spurs come out on top in the end.
You've been there before?
Especially with Manu coming back. Perhaps Manu and Mason both come off the bench together tonight? That might be what happens later in the season anyway.
that, I want Mason starting. How many games has Mason started now, anways? It's looking more and more that he could be interchangeable coming off the bench, since he's not doing too bad creating his own shot. And with Manu/Tony on the floor, he'll have the D otherwise occupied.
I just hope Pop doesn't ever put Finley on OJ Mayo. Talk about a Mayo Clinic.
"Well played sir..."
Thanks."Well played sir..."
Unfortunately, the Spurs payed dearly for failing to cover him before he released.
Hi-yo! You are correct sir!
This will be a great match-up
If Hill wins the macth-up, we'll win the game.
I think Bruce can hold the Mayo.
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