George Hill: Entering the 2009 offseason

[Dex]

I'm just glad that he had a chance to show a spark when it really mattered, so that the team doesn't start conceiving ideas to ship him out or replace him during the offseason. Maybe now, Pop will start to realize that he'll have to give Hill a little bit of leash if he wants him to develop as a player (ala Manu), but the potential and talent is definitely there.

[ducks]

tp trust him in the postseason

[Jose Ole]

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.

I agree he was underused. I would have loved to have seen Hill get more minutes this season, but let's not forget, Pop's not a big fan of playing rookies. After the performance he put on last night and with a strong off-season, I think Hill has the potential to become a part of Pop's rotation. He may not have the size and consistency just yet, but he's young and seems eager to improve his game... can't wait to see what this guy does for us in the future.

[I Love Me Some Me]

For all the ranting and raving about Hill needing more minutes, the guy played 33 minutes last night and the Spurs lost for the same reasons the lost the other 3 games in this series. Even in playing starters minutes, Hill was ineffective on both sides of the floor. His primary defensive assignment (Jason Terry) had his best game of the series, and was left W I D E O P E N by Hill twice resulting in two crushing 3-pointers by Terry.


George Hill is a nice player with a future in the league, but Pop's decision not to play him was not necessarily the wrong one.

[Muser]

He looks great, if he can work on getting to the rim he will be a very valuable backup PG, he can shoot the 3 ball and defend nearly any other PG in the league.

Also he has a superstar in Parker who he can learn from.

[pad300]

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

Hill is a better defender by far.

Not to surprising that Beno is currently (and was when he came in, to be fair) better as a passer and with his court vision. Beno's been a PG his entire career. Hill was in his first year of converting from playing the SG... That considered, Hill has looked pretty good.

Hill's also shown some heart, which Beno hasn't demonstrated in his entire career.

[NFGIII]

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. Very good. He definitely filled TP's slot when he got injured. Had 3 games of 20+ points and was showing a lot of confidence. Unfortunately he hit the rookie wall and fell into disfavor with Pop. Then Pop went to Mason as the backup PG and I think his confidence plumented. He finished out the year in the POs very well for the limited time that he got. I think he comes into next with much more confidence.

2. Backup PG and SG. He might even be considered for starting SG. I think it would be in the best interests of Manu and the Spurs if Manu continues to come off the bench with the second unit. Until the Spurs find someone that has the O like Manu does then I would keep it as it is. Secondly, Manu would play against lesser talent and be able to dominate easier with I think less wear and tear.

3. His O: midrange jumpshot and the ability to finish at the rim better. After focusing on that then I would also like to see him improve his court vision and his passing. But if he only gets the O down then that would be a major improvement to me in his second year. I expect for him to be here for some time so like TP lets work on his O first and then improve other things. His D is way better than most rookies IMO.

4. Yes to both. Pop has always been a vet coach and when Hill started to hit the rookie wall then I think that convinced Pop to go with Mason at b/u PG. The assumption proved to be wrong and Hill definitely proved his worth in the last two games of the Mavs series. He is much more mentally tough than Beno was and I think Pop understands that now. Better late than never I guess. Though I don't think the Spurs would have gone to the Finals if he had left Hill as b/u PG and not benched him in favor of Mason. Without Manu in the playoffs this team wasn't going far. We just didn't have the guns to be a serious contender and our role players proved that quite dramatically.