Reply With Quote
Nice article. Thanks!
On the brink of war, Hill de-scrambles
Buck Harvey
Gregg Popovich will teach his young point guard, George Hill, many things.
Such as Black Sea geopolitics.
This week, Popovich, ever the student of Russia, guessed where Hill would be playing today if he had continued to perform as he did in the summer league.
South Ossetia. The disputed region between Russia and Georgia.
Told of that possibility, as well as the location of South Ossetia, Hill shook his head and smiled. “I don't do wars,” he said.
Everybody laughs now, but no one did last summer. Hill's showing then was so depressingly awful that no one within the franchise wanted to hear how the kid was learning a new position, or that low first-round picks often need time.
For the Spurs, Hill was a symbol of something more. Which is why Wednesday night was a symbol of how everything has changed. Then, Popovich benched Tony Parker for the final seven minutes of a tight game.
And went with Hill.
Hill didn't star. He had a few impressive sequences in the third quarter, and he finished with seven points and five assists in 22 minutes. But at the end, he was mostly playing defense and watching Manu Ginobili.
Still, finishing off Atlanta said more than any numbers could. Popovich ran a play for Hill, and he put his arm around him during a timeout and called him “Georgie.” And he trusted him.
In July, Popovich could never have seen this happening. Then, Hill was a deer caught in Vegas lights, shooting 2 of 25 over three games, and other NBA execs were telling stories.
From one Eastern Conference exec: Had the Spurs not taken Hill, he would have likely dropped to the middle of the second round.
“We wondered, geez, is this guy going to be able to do it?” Popovich said.
The Spurs reacted accordingly. They brought in another point guard, Salim Stoudamire, and they tried to sign another, Jannero Pargo. They also delayed signing Hill to a contract.
The Spurs also tried to counsel Hill. According to Popovich, they talked to him about “not being a place taker.”
A place taker?
“He was a zero. Not doing anything. We could go out there and pass the ball from A to B at the top of the court and not do anything. You have to try to make things happen. Go ahead and turn it over. Get a feel. Do something.”
The words reflect the frustration of that time. The Spurs had needed to find someone with this draft pick after coming up empty in previous years, and all they had was, well, a place taker.
Could R.C. Buford have been the one sent to South Ossetia?
“I'll take on a pass on that one,” Popovich joked Wednesday.
Again, Popovich had fun with that question because of what has followed. The Spurs began to see a few bursts from Hill in practice, and then he started to throw in some 3-pointers with the set-shot form of Magic Johnson.
“We thought,” said Popovich, “does he have a little skill here we didn't know he had?”
Then the games began, and Popovich saw something he loves. Toughness. “He wasn't intimidated by anything.”
He was coachable. He absorbed information. And when he made a mistake?
“Not a change of expression, not a change of body language, not a change of emotion or intensity,” Popovich said. “He just went on to the next play, and that's a uva skill for an NBA player.”
Then Parker sprained an ankle, and Hill showed something else. A 23-point game against Utah, a 19-point, 11-rebound game against Chicago.
ESPN ranks rookies every week. And right now, Hill is fourth, ahead of Greg Oden, Michael Beasley and others.
So what was going on in the summer? “His brain was scrambled,” Popovich said.
Hill admits to all of this now, and he admits to something else. “I didn't want the organization to be asked, ‘Why did you pick this guy?'”
Now others are asking why they didn't. Now Hill is finishing games while an All-Star sits, and now Buford is remembered as the one who also found Parker and Ginobili.
Now it's clear Hill has come a long way.
From South Ossetia to South Texas.
Nice article. Thanks!
From one Eastern Conference exec: Had the Spurs not taken Hill, he would have likely dropped to the middle of the second round.
“We wondered, geez, is this guy going to be able to do it?” Popovich said.
The Spurs reacted accordingly. They brought in another point guard, Salim Stoudamire, and they tried to sign another, Jannero Pargo. They also delayed signing Hill to a contract.
The Spurs also tried to counsel Hill. According to Popovich, they talked to him about “not being a place taker.”
“He was a zero. Not doing anything.”
Nevermind.Popovich ran a play for Hill, and he put his arm around him during a timeout and called him “Georgie.” And he trusted him.
Could R.C. Buford have been the one sent to South Ossetia?
“I'll take on a pass on that one,” Popovich joked Wednesday.
I'm still not overjoyed with him.Buford is remembered as the one who also found Parker and Ginobili.
Looks like Georgie learned from another veteran on the team.And when he made a mistake?
“Not a change of expression, not a change of body language, not a change of emotion or intensity,” Popovich said. “He just went on to the next play, and that's a uva skill for an NBA player.”
Matt Bonner!
his stoic face makes me wonder if he's a younger brother of Tim DuncanHe was coachable. He absorbed information. And when he made a mistake?
"Not a change of expression, not a change of body language, not a change of emotion or intensity,” Popovich said. “He just went on to the next play, and that's a uva skill for an NBA player.”
there's one show of good character there Georgie.
+1 pt 4 U.
Hill has textbook form on his shot, hardly comparable to Magic.Again, Popovich had fun with that question because of what has followed. The Spurs began to see a few bursts from Hill in practice, and then he started to throw in some 3-pointers with the set-shot form of Magic Johnson.
I can't remember the last time Tony had a game as poor as the one he had tonight. Going into the game I was a little worried about Tony's health, (after what happened the last time he played a double-overtime) so I'm glad to see he came out unscathed, but to see him get benched (and deservingly so) was pretty brutal.
Hill wasn't spectacular tonight, but he played good D, made a couple of the "right" passes, and didn't hurt the cause. Which on this night, was a whole of a lot more than you can say for Tony.
Hopefully, having a day off will help with the fatigue (physically, but more mentally for Tony imo) and the fact that they're playing Minnesota will be enough to get Tony back on track. Everyone is en led to having an off-night, so I'm not worried at all about Tony bouncing back, it was just unbelievable that the guy wearing the #9 jersey out there tonight was the same guy.
In the closing minutes of tonight's game, Atlanta had the ball, and called a time out with 3 seconds left on their shot clock. The possession was that important. If the Spurs got a stop and scored at the other end, the Hawks would have been in a hole almost too big to climb out of.
Pop took advantage of the time out to discuss the defense with the Spurs' players. Then Hill went out and committed a foul off the ball, and gave Mike Bibby 2 gift free throws. It would have been bad enough if he had waited until the ball had been thrown in... but that was just a ridiculously dumb play. I was surprised Pop didn't pull him over it.
That one play gave the Hawks a lot of life, and could have cost the Spurs an important game. And after having a time out to think about it, there is no excuse. I'm as big of a Hill fan as the next guy, and I love what he has shown so far. But he has to learn that he can't do it all by himself - especially on the defensive end.
From what I saw, Bibby flopped, and Hill's rookie status got confirmed. Hill can't play passive on defense, but since he hasn't gained the respect of the officials yet, he's caught in a bit of a catch-22.Pop took advantage of the time out to discuss the defense with the Spurs' players. Then Hill went out and committed a foul off the ball, and gave Mike Bibby 2 gift free throws. It would have been bad enough if he had waited until the ball had been thrown in... but that was just a ridiculously dumb play. I was surprised Pop didn't pull him over it.
The officiating has gotten to him at times, but he's just got to play through it and earn the respect one game at a time.
They'll be instances like these, that Pop and the team will have to grit their teeth over, but it's something that's pretty much unavoidable.
Hill needs to pick-up everything he can from Bruce, play with intelligence, with aggressiveness, and just let the chips fall where they may.
+1. That was a "you're a rookie" call. Besides, how was he going to pull him when Parker was basically walking through the defensive sets, and consistently trailing his man around the pick on the way to a layup? Hill was his only option at that point, unless you wanted an appearance by TATO.
What pissed me off more than anything was that little spurt after the foul was fueled by TWO ing extremely obvious Mike Bibby moving screens set for Joe Johnson on consecutive possessions. Neither basket should have counted, and the Spurs should have won going away by double digits.
Waste of Space
Quite revealing that even Pop had serious doubts about George Hill after proclaiming that he'd have an immediate impact on the Spurs. Probably no one is more relieved than Pop that Hill has lived up to his expectations. Otherwise Pop would have been crucified on ST.
People here don't wait for results to crucify you.
I saw Tony coughing a little bit while on the floor. I wonder if he is really ill with a cold or some thing.
what? its not unbelievable its elementary. its the 2nd night of a back to back after going to double OT the night before. duh. not to mention the PG position is one of the most physically demanding positions. His legs were dead and having a day off will benefit him physically. Mentally theres nothing wrong so im not sure what you see there.
Im sure Pop is worried about the collective Bball IQ of ST and how much more the posters know about basketball than he does.
Lol ^
Brett Brown confirmed he has a cold and he was sluggish and tired from the night before.
Probobly should be good to go Friday night.
I thought Pop was the one high on Hill before the draft.Could R.C. Buford have been the one sent to South Ossetia?
“I'll take on a pass on that one,” Popovich joked Wednesday.
I love that Pop doesn't play favorites. When a star is sucking on the court, he yanks them, just as he would yank a rookie...or Bonner.but to see him get benched (and deservingly so) was pretty brutal.
But it also takes a special kind of player to accept it, which the Spurs employ in abundance.
Thank you for confirming your status on this forum.
What I saw there, was a player that had little to no resemblance of the player usually donning the #9.
I wasn't attacking Tony, (probably should read the whole post before getting all defensive) just stating that if you had only heard of T.Parker and were seeing him for the first time last night, you'd have a hard time believeing that he was the guy you heard about.
Someone else posted a comment that reminded me of Tony leaving the court, which could explain most of his problems.
Sure, fatigue affects you mentally and physically (and I'm sure had something to do with his performance), but I always find it harder to make good decisions when I'm trying not to crap my pants.
It wasn't a dumb play. It was a former all-star getting a star call against a rookie.
Ssspuuuurrrtttttaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
