Monroe: Hill vs. Nash In Crunch Time Becomes A Spurs' Success

[duncan228]

Short and sweet from the other side.

Spurs' role players hinder O'Neal, Nash
by Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic

SAN ANTONIO - Further emphasizing their domination of the Suns, the Spurs pulled away Sunday during a critical fourth-quarter stretch with Tim Duncan sitting on the bench in front of Manu Ginobili, who missed the game because of an injury and was in a suit.

The Suns were not at full strength, either, missing injured forward Amaré Stoudemire, who averaged 25 points in the teams' first three meetings.

But they disappeared Sunday as Spurs coach Gregg Popovich let Kurt Thomas defend Suns center Shaquille O'Neal and put rookie George Hill on Suns guard Steve Nash for the final 9:32.
O'Neal did not score on Thomas, and Hill, who had logged 42 seconds in the first three quarters, played all of the fourth quarter.

"He did a good job on Nash, and that's saying a lot," said Popovich, who told Hill, "You've got Nash. You've really got Nash, so pick him up full court and work him."

During the Suns' four scoreless crunch-time minutes, Nash had two turnovers and an air ball.

[tp2021]

Short and sweet from the other side.

Spurs' role players hinder O'Neal, Nash
by Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic

SAN ANTONIO - Further emphasizing their domination of the Suns, the Spurs pulled away Sunday during a critical fourth-quarter stretch with Tim Duncan sitting on the bench in front of Manu Ginobili, who missed the game because of an injury and was in a suit.

The Suns were not at full strength, either, missing injured forward Amaré Stoudemire, who averaged 25 points in the teams' first three meetings.

But they disappeared Sunday as Spurs coach Gregg Popovich let Kurt Thomas defend Suns center Shaquille O'Neal and put rookie George Hill on Suns guard Steve Nash for the final 9:32.
O'Neal did not score on Thomas, and Hill, who had logged 42 seconds in the first three quarters, played all of the fourth quarter.

"He did a good job on Nash, and that's saying a lot," said Popovich, who told Hill, "You've got Nash. You've really got Nash, so pick him up full court and work him."

During the Suns' four scoreless crunch-time minutes, Nash had two turnovers and an air ball.

When could it possibly be more apt to say

[AussieFanKurt]

yeahh George, great effort today, loved the D you played!

[John_C]

If hill becomes a reliable defender against top caliber and play off bound point guards, then it would really free Bowen to concentrate on SGs and SFs, making us a better defensive team again.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Pop won the game with his decisions in the second half.Unorthodox and effective.

[TDMVPDPOY]

where are the fkn haters...hill hitting the rookie wall....

[DMX7]

hill > lebron

at table tennis... and still maybe not.

[Agloco]

Hopefully he gets some meaningful PT in the playoffs.

[SenorSpur]

I wanted to post this for a while, but didn't want to start a whole thread for it. You may think I'm nuts, but my favorite thing about Hill right now is his eyes.

Watch him when he puts up a shot. He's always looking to get his own rebound, if he misses. But the moment... the instant... that he sees that the ball is going through the rim, his eyes are up and scanning the floor. This is a guy who is locked in on defense.

Most players will take a second or two to admire their work. Even the ones that don't beat their chest (or even slap their hips) will have a moment of inactivity. I always considered Horry a tremendously heads-up player, but even he would stand and hold the pose for a second. Hill never does.

To be a rookie and have that kind of intensity and discipline is an amazing thing. It also says that he gets what Pop wants from him. Some talk it, but not all of them really, really get it.

At first read, you had me worried there for a bit. However you veered back on course just fine. Your point is well-taken.

[I Love Me Some Me]

Hill is also an excellent rebounder for his position, probably better than any other spur guard (except maybe Ginobili, when he feels like it).

[ILoveOranges]

He got caught up on a couple of screens, but Hill did an amazing job defensively.

[MoSpur]

I can't believe some in here still think Mason should take up Hill's backup PG minutes.

[temujin]

I can't believe some in here still think Mason should take up Hill's backup PG minutes.

In fact, Hill was best WITH Parker in.
I didn't like his offensive passiveness with Parker out.

[hater]

I agree Hill looks best with either Tony or Manu handling the ball. With both out, Hill looks like a rookie

[kace]

hater

[YoMamaIsCallin]

I can't believe some in here still think Mason should take up Hill's backup PG minutes.

I think Popovich has decided Hill is more valuable as a two in small ball situations or when he needs another defender/rebounder out there besides Bowen. I think Popovich has decided he's not all that great at PG and should not be the first backup to Tony.

I further think that Popovich is really liking Mason at PG. What he gives away occasionally in turnovers is more than made up in his ability to fire quickly and accurately from distance. The pick & roll is super effective with Mason in there.

[barbacoataco]

Hill as a combo guard/defensive specialist long term makes sense. If parker averages 34 mpg then Hill gets 14 mpg as PG and maybe another 10 -12 as SG next to Parker. The move of Mason to backup PG seems like a temporary move for this season, maybe only as long as Manu is out. Once Manu returns then I think Hill gets the backup PG spot back. Right now they need Mason in there for his scoring.

[mabrignani]

You may think I'm nuts, but my favorite thing about Hill right now is his eyes.

how cute

[Ice009]

I love that Hill grabs boards in traffic. I think in last night's game when he first came in he grabbed one like this.

I love Hill's rebounding ability and his defensive effort. My personal opinion though on Hill's lack of playing time at PG is that Pop doesn't like his passiveness on offense so he's giving Mason a shot at it to see if he can be more effective at it.