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Hope Hill steps up to the plate like he did last year.
Parker injury hands Spurs' reins to Hill
Jeff McDonald
Spurs guard George Hill knew something was wrong the second Tony Parker limped to the locker room at the Rose Garden.
It wasn't just the way Parker left the floor that had Hill concerned. It was that Parker left the floor at all.
“I just wanted to make sure he was OK,” said Hill, who is set to assume starting point-guard duties while Parker nurses his latest ankle sprain. “I know how Tony is. He's a fighter. He always wants to be in. When he limps off, you know he's really hurt.”
Parker, the Spurs' leading scorer, left late in the second quarter of Friday's 96-84 loss at Portland after rolling his left ankle on a drive to the basket. It was the same ankle he sprained five games into last season, an ailment that caused him to miss three weeks.
Parker said late Friday the injury was not as severe as that one, nor was it as severe as the right ankle sprain that cost him a month with the French national team over the summer.
“This one is not even close,” Parker said. “It will be a week, maybe.”
In the interim, the Spurs will turn the point-guard job over to Hill. As rookie, Hill performed admirably in Parker's place, notching three consecutive 20-point games during that stretch.
With a season under his belt, Hill said he feels more prepared to fill in for Parker now than he did then.
“I can't say I'm happy, because we need Tony,” Hill said. “But I'm always going to be prepared.”
Bogans sighting: After logging a total of 26 minutes in his first four games with the Spurs, Keith Bogans was given his first start of the season in Portland.
“I've been playing long enough to know I've got to stay ready,” Bogans said. “You can't let it take you by surprise when they call your name.”
Bogans learned of his starting bid about 20 minutes before tipoff, after it became apparent that Portland coach Nate McMillan intended to start Andre Miller, Brandon Roy and Steve Blake together for the first time.
Hoping to get more defense on the floor to start the game, Gregg Popovich countered by inserting Bogans for Michael Finley at shooting guard. Finley had started 43 consecutive games, including playoffs.
Bogans finished with five points in a season-high 24 minutes, but he harbors no delusions about why he earned the start.
“I'm pretty sure I was put out there for defense, not offense,” Bogans said. “We've got enough offensive guys.”
Hope Hill steps up to the plate like he did last year.
I hope Hill really develops, the kid's got potencial. Plus he sounds pretty humble en centered.
Hill will step up. We'll need Parker in the long stretch, but we need Hill to step up and be confident as well.
My question is.. who's the back-up PG? Mason?
It will be Mason who backs him up. It would be a nice surprise to see him do it well.
good to see Hill will get another chance to play a bigger role. He did well last season in this situation, hopefully he does so again.
This is gonna ing suck. Oh well, at least I know I truly enjoyed the '07 le run cause we'll not see that again for a long time if ever. The legend of the small market team who defied logic and dominated by just working smarter than everyone else is slowly dying. What a great run though.
i hope he takes pakers job for real
Fixed.McDonald: Parker injury hands Spurs' reins to Mason
TP missing time in the short term is actually a good thing.
We are a team that is basically starting all over. The chemistry is not there and we are trying to get our guys into the system. This was the problem with TP leaving for France when the Spurs made all the dramatic changes that they did, he didn't have as much time to work on team chemistry with his new teammates and it shows when the offensive sets were ran as awkwardly as they are.
Hill need to step up this time, or he will get Beno's treatment.
I think Hill has the tools to surpass Parker. (For you over-sensitive idiots, I am not saying that he is better now.) If he can show his potential, then he will get more playing time and get some of those minutes from the old guys.
For the last 5 games, I was impressed by Tony Parker's bad shooting after dribbling off screen, so I checked the stats in 82gams.com, according to that:
Tony Parker's Effective FG% on jump shoot was: 35.7%, and 20% coming from assists illustrates he did create his own shot the most time.
George Hill’s Effective FG% on jump shoot was: 40.9%, and 86% coming from assists illustrates he spot up in offense set the most time.
So I think: 1. Hill actually did not play Parker's role: Spurs' PG 2. Parker was not effective on jumper off screen. 3. Pop should let Hill play some pick&roll and see if he can shoot well.
This implies only one thing, the Spurs point guards cannot shoot to save their lives. And there we are talking about Rajon Rondo's inept jump shot.
Good Luck G-Hill
A little note, Bogans understands his role and I hope he continues to play good enough defense and earn himself the minutes.
I hope TP get's back soon and I hope Mason will take his role now. Hill sucks, I mean seriously, I don't get all the Hill love in here. We are doomed without Parker.
All it says about Tony's jump shot is that 5 games is a very small sample size. Check the numbers for the entire 2008-09 season. Tony is a very effective jump shooter, while Rondo is among the worst in the league.
I don't know how he managed to suck so bad. 35% on effective field goal percentage kills and is harmful for the team.
It was very bad.
It was 5 games.
He has proven to be an effective jump shooter in recent seasons. It is likely that he will be an effective jump shooter again this season.
I am sure he will pick it up. But, bad turned worse when he sprained his ankle. I just hope the Spurs could get back to track soon.
Well, he turned an ankle in Game 5 last season. Against all odds, the Spurs played very well without both Tony and Manu. We'll see.
It's one week, not the season. Stop being a drama queen.
Hill will be just fine. Heck he performed admirably last season in a longer stint, when TP was injured. And this occurred at a time when he wasn't near as experienced or the good shooter that he is now. What killed Hill last season was Pop and his inexplicable burying him on the bench.
It took Pop an entire season to figure out what most of us noticed during the month of Nov & Dec of last year - that Hill has the talent, desire, and moxie to play in this league and to be successful. All he needed was the chance and the trust from his coach. He didn't need to be buried on the bench, only to be dusted off in the spring. Much in the same way Pop is doing to Hairston now.
Maybe Hill will do great, then Pop will still not use him in our short playoff run...
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