Evaluating George Hill

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Gregg Popovich’s favorite player is on the mind of basketball pundits.

From my point of view, George Hill is much-improved this season. His ability to run the offense-as opposed to running to the corner for a spot up three-has been on showcase since Summer League. His increase in minutes between seasons (from 16 to 25) is the biggest indicator, despite all the hokey talk from Popovich, that he’s grown in the head coaches’ esteem. And there are other indicators of growth, such as increases in his APM and PER. Â

Still, not everyone is convinced.

SpursTalk(er) LJ Ellis recently asked a couple hard questions of Hill:

I continue to be underwhelmed by George Hill’s play. Offensively, he’s relying too much on his perimeter shot and isn’t attacking the rim consistently enough. His playmaking has been slightly better as of late but still ranks near the bottom of the barrel when it comes to NBA point guards. Defensively, he’s been decent but nothing to write home to Indianapolis about.

Another thing that is baffling to me about Hill’s play is his lack of rebounding. One rebound in the last three games for a player who was one of the best rebounders at his position a year ago? I don’t get it. The team needs defensive rebounds and Hill is nowhere to be found. The bottom line with Hill is that the Spurs need him to step into a larger role this season but he’s not playing at a higher level than he was as a green rookie from IUPUI.

And ESPN’s David Thorpe wants more from Hill, too.

Hill is quick to the rim and able to finish close shots, he’s making 38 percent of his 3s and his turnover rate is low. Factor in his solid defense and you’d think the Spurs were getting just what they need from him. However, he’s struggling with his perimeter shot inside the line.

Yes, he’s holding his own in San Antonio, but he could be doing a lot more. I think he could be a top-10 to top-15 guy in this class with just a little more success as a shooter.

Your thoughts?

  • http://www.goodtimescomic.blogspot.com Jordan

    They seem to contradict each other a little…

    Hill’s biggest problem, in my opinion, is that his p/r defense is kinda bad. He consistently gets stuck on the pick which allows for the mismatch of their little on our big.

    Everyone seems to have these amazing expectations for George. If he isn’t the best point guard in the NBA then he must be doing something wrong. He’s doing as well as Derrick Rose right now (not saying much). I’d take him over almost every other backup point guard.

  • zack

    hill will be fine, he’s still playing pretty good defense, as long as he’s playing solid defense and not turning the ball over im sure he’ll stay on the spurs court. and im loviin him right now!

  • rj

    last night, he did an excellent job attacking the rim. george hill has been solid. it’s rj and manu that i am more concerned about. hopefully last night will show that the two of them are turning the corner. rj is a guy we have to get going early in transition. his confidence soared as the game went on. tim, tony, and manu will keep chugging along.

  • Chris K.

    He needs to get to the rim more, he has the quickness and length to get in there and finish, but he doesn’t do it enough. 80-90% of his shots need to be layups or open threes only.

  • Mulan

    George Hill has the potential to be a great point guard, but until he is willing to take charge and showcase the underlying talent that he has, he is going to remain in the bottom slot.

  • Bill

    Point guard is the hardest position to learn in basketball. It will take seasons, not games to get Hill to his peak.

  • Dr. Theopolus

    Not a clever player, but could be some sort of a workhorse. Because we have no great defensive perimeter stopper, we want to force him into that role. He might be that, but he’s too slight to stop the Kobe Bryants, so to speak. We don’t have great passers on the team so we hope he’ll be a great distributor, but I’m not sure if that will ever be his role.

    He plays with intensity, which I love. He’ll have a solid NBA career but I’m still not sure what his niche will be. He was a scorer up until he came to the Spurs. As much as we need his defense, I wouldn’t mind if his scoring came a little easier. Combined with Tony, we must have the worst jump shooting pair of point guards in the league, at least for the moment. (Parker’s money 17ft. jump shot from last year has vanished so far this season.)

  • Phife

    Does anyone have the +/- stat for Bogans? I haven’t been able to watch many games, but the boxscore has him playing like 25 mpg…BOGANS?!

  • BlaseE

    The rebounds thing is misleading. Last season’s team was a good defensive rebounding one, but Blair, Dice, and Jefferson are all superior rebounders to their predecessors. Bonner has been rebounding better lately too. Even Duncan with his 15 pound lighter body seems a little more active than his consistently dominant self on the glass.

    Aside from stats, George Hill seems to be playing confident, smart basketball. He is also flexible in the rotation complimenting Parker, Manu, or Mason in the back court. I’m not sure if he is a top 15 player of his class, but he is damn valuable to our roster.

  • Daniel B.

    My only major beef with him has been fouls. Other than that, I think he’s doing just fine, especially considering all the transitions he’s had to make and the new players he’s had to become accustomed to. I think the reason why he’s Pop’s favorite player is basically that he’s a thinking workhorse…which sounds alot like Pop’s BEST player, Timmy. Coincidence? I think not.

  • lvmainman

    Hill has been lousy playing on ball defense. Too often he stands sideways against the ball handler anticipating screens that aren’t there. See the Utah game in crunch time when he was specifically inserted to guard Williams and Williams drove to the basket or shot at will. Hill has been lousy trying to stop penetration via the dribble and needs to improve.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    Ivmainman,

    I hear what you’re saying, but he’s not anticipating screens on all of those possessions. Popovich likes the Spurs defenders to direct their men, and sometimes this means playing them at what seems a weird angle. Sometimes Hill positioning is just fine. I’m not saying this to discredit your point. It’s just a mixture of good and bad, I think.

  • JT

    I agree, a lot of times is to direct the player and have another defender come meet them which can sometimes confuse the player and cause turnovers. Some players are better going left or right, in this cases it is good to guide them towards the area they struggle with.

  • biolb

    He will never be a great distributor, nt even as good as TP, who is not exactly a pass-first point guard. If he learns to play within his limitations, he will be fine.

  • ThatBigGuy

    I’m not a fan of absolute statements for very young players, especially the “he will never” because it’s much to early to tell. Was Tony a whole lot better when he was a rookie? I’m betting a bunch of people threw the “he will never” line at him in the early going and then he turned into a 3 time champion. Hill has some fantastic abilities that only time will develop, so let’s dispense with the absolutes for a couple more years, ok?

  • Jesse Blanchard

    Again, will just point out…

    Hill’s improved his three-point shot, especially from the corners, which has tremendously increased his value to the Spurs.

    His defense is solid.

    What he lacks right now, pure and simple, is creativity. He has no major change of direction moves, doesn’t change speeds. His game is simple, if there’s a driving lane he can take it, but he’s not exactly creating. Parker is quick, but he’s not the fastest player in the league. He just appears that way because at times he’s the most ELUSIVE point guard in the league. Hill just isn’t that right now.

  • Bentley

    Well I think the only reason these criticisms on Hill are so hard is because no one even dared to think that he was going to be as productive as he was as a rookie coming out from IUPUI, a school half of us haven’t even heard of. So it is a little unfair to say he has “underwhelmed”, its only his second year of basketball! Hill can shoot the ball, remember he was a scoring 2 guard at IUPUI, and his defense will only get better, you can’t just expect him to lock down some of the league’s best players because he has long arms and athletic ability. He is a good defender, not the best, but he’s good, and with time he’ll become better at both ends of the floor.

  • kb

    We sometimes forget in the past the Spurs had two shot blockers defending the basket. The Spurs defensive numbers are different because of the personal. The Spurs have to a better HEDGE first team(meaning big men pushing the opposing guard further away from the basket allowing thier teammate to recover) because of the lack of shot blocking…..but I’ve seen some improvement from game to game….That’s encouraging..

  • Dr. Love

    I like Hill’s game, and the way it’s evolving. I’m more concerned about his consistency. George looks good against the bottom-dwellers, but his game disappears against the playoff-bound teams.

  • Matt C.

    Hill might seem to be making shots consistently, but his adjusted FG% is actually the lowest on the team. To me that means too many spot up jumpers from inside the arc.

    Of course this might be a side-effect from a general lack of ball movement. Pass the ball around, don’t find anything easy, Hill takes an outside jumper is an all too common possession this season.

  • Prof A. J .

    Saw Hill last year against the Knicks (at the owner’s box-what a treat). Greg P. pulled him over for a quick chat, and till then, Hill had no assists since Parker out! Jamal Crawford (Knick back then) was lighting it up. Finley was on the left wing, open, the whole place saw that he was open. The minute Hill cross the mid court, kept his head straight and dished the ball well, crisp and sound. First assist of the game. Boosted his confidence. Then, the third or fourth play, Hill attacked the rim and finished strong. The kid has good very “hoops.” But I agree, he needs to be more aggressive. I’m sold on the kid, very a talent. People need to believe that this kid can play.

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