Hill gets a valuable lesson directly from the master
Mike Monroe
In the two games that preceded the Spurs' Thursday night matchup against the Lakers, coach Gregg Popovich had asked George Hill to defend two-time Most Valuable Player Steve Nash and Bobcats' guard Raja Bell.
But Kobe Bryant is the reigning MVP.
Would Popovich really try that, too?
“Sure,” he said an hour before tipoff. “It would be a good education for him.”
Sure enough, with Thursday's game in the balance after Tony Parker's 3-pointer trimmed the Lakers' lead to 95-93, Hill was matched up defensively on Bryant.
What did he learn?
“That people are going to make shots,” Hill said.
In this case, it was Bryant making a tough, well-contested fadeaway 3-pointer with 1:46 remaining in the game, sucking most of the emotion out of the AT&T Center and pushing the Lakers' lead back to five points.
It turned out to be enough of a cushion to hand the Spurs their 21st loss of the season.
Hill's defense could not be faulted on Bryant's basket. He cut off Bryant's jab step to the right, then gave the Lakers' great scarcely enough room to release his shot after he jumped, fading back and slightly to his left.
“I thought it was pretty good defense,” Hill said, “but that's Kobe. He makes great plays, and you have to give him hands-down respect. He made a great shot.”
“I was very surprised. Off the dribble, fadeaway from three, with a hand in his face. But that's what he does.”
Hill's teammates defended his defensive work on the play.
“He looked great,” Spurs captain Tim Duncan said. “The one shot Kobe hit, I thought he was very much into him, very much a contested shot. That's Kobe being Kobe. He made a big shot.”
Popovich defended Hill, too.
“If you've watched him, then you should know why (he was on Bryant),” he said. “He plays a heck of a defense, and he does a good job. He did a good job tonight.
“Every minute he's on the court, he's learning. He's a rookie, and it's his first time to play against everyone. Every game, every minute, is an education for him.”
Bryant was a little surprised to find Hill matched up against him in crunch time instead of veteran Bruce Bowen, with whom he has waged many battles over the past seven seasons.
“It's weird for me, because I'm so used to having him draped all over me,” Bryant said.
“But I think Hill and (Roger) Mason do an admirable job.”
What did Bryant think when he found a rookie guarding him so late in a close game?
“Make them,” he said. “But against San Antonio, they're not going to let you do that, because they're going to send everybody there. They're going to send help and they're going to try to bait me into taking the tough shot.
“I just had to space them out and find the open guy. Then, at the end, I was able to get a good look at a three and put it in, which kind of gave us some breathing room.”
Hill's teammates defended his defensive work on the play.
“He looked great,” Spurs captain Tim Duncan said. “The one shot Kobe hit, I thought he was very much into him, very much a contested shot. That's Kobe being Kobe. He made a big shot.”
Popovich defended Hill, too.
“If you've watched him, then you should know why (he was on Bryant),” he said. “He plays a heck of a defense, and he does a good job. He did a good job tonight.
Kobe taught GH the sound of silence...that's why he's the mamba
Kobe made a contested attempt: it was tight and forced, but that's how he likes it. However, it won't equal a ring this time.
you can pray
???
You saying Kobe got a ring for this game?
I was hoping Hill would cause Kobe to rip open his knee.
Look Hill played Kobe pretty good on that shot. Anyone that says his defense wasn't good on that shot it high.
Let's compare it to the last game in SA when Roger Mason was guarding Kobe and Kobe just stepped up and hit and easy three over Mason.
I do not think you got the obvious rape reference-->buying a (3?4?) million dollar ring for his wife
Hmmm. Then I wonder why he didn't have Hairston active. Seems to me that he could've hardly done any worse than Mason did convering Bryant. Kobe is obviously a tough matchup for any player. I just don't see the sense in having a shorter player, like Hill, on Bryant - no matter how long his arms are.
Hill is going to bulk up a bit/get stronger over time, which will make things that much tougher on Kobe despite the height disparity. He already has pretty darn good footwork in terms of sticking with some of the better ball handlers in the league so that's not really an issue. He's shaping up to be one heck of a defender.
On another note, I'm liking more and more the idea of having Hill at the 2 and Mason running the point when they are both on the floor. Mase looks more fluid regarding distibution and comfortable with decision-making. Hill looked more comfortable being a compliment to the offense than the main catalyst. I personally would like to move towards him taking on the 2 spot longterm as he gets more comfortable going one-on-one on offense (which we've seen him do early on in the season) and consistently starts to make his jumper, but that's just me. I think he has the potential to give us that Manu/Parker-like extra dimension on offense and mainly have that and locking down the team's best perimeter scorer as his primary obligations.
shut up you arrogant
Translation: People better get used to George Hill, he's gonna be around for a while.
It actually doesn't sound like Pop was experimenting...it's a no-brainer that you trap Kobe and take your chances with Gasol though if you really want to beat the Lakers IMHO.
I liked the idea of Hill on Bryant. Really, those shots Bryant made on Hill, he would have made on anybody, and Hill played him as good as possible. He would have hit those shots had it been Bowen's hand in that same exact spot.
Bryant's jumpers are unguardable, period. But Hill showed great quickness on the perimeter, keeping kobe from driving. Not that tiny-head was actually looking to drive tonight, but, still.
Well done you.
Oh boy ... I know we should encourage and ensdorse Hill's learning process but come on, Kobe is too much at this point for him.
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