[ESPN/Chris Sheridan] Ex-Knicks Hill, Jeffries come up big in McGrady's alumni game

Ha, the new '7-in-80' miracle.

 

What a dick thing to say by D'antoni.

 

[rquoter]
"I don't like to play bad rookies. I like to play good rookies," D'Antoni said, explaining that Hill was not showing enough in practice to warrant playing time ahead of the Knicks' more established frontcourt players. "I do like Jordan. I think he'll be a nice player in the league, but that's as far as it goes."

That comment was relayed afterward to Hill, who was rendered momentarily speechless.

"Didn't hear that, but what can I say? That's him," Hill said. "He's entitled to his own opinion, so if that's the way he feels, that's how he feels. I'm not trying to make a point. I'm just trying to play basketball. I just want to go out there and have fun and play my game." [/rquoter]

I hope Hill takes that to heart, and uses it as motivation this summer. The physical package and the instincts seem to be there. He can be really good if he has the right commitment and desire to be so.

 

agreed. He's one of the coaches in the NBA that I really dislike. Him and Doc Rivers.

 

I guess the D in D'Antoni stands for Douchenozzle.

 

Yeah, but as usual I'm sure the reporter twisted Hill's comments in order to incite that sort of response.

This is what Hill said:

[rquoter]
“D’Antoni, he relies on his veterans more than rookies,” Hill told the Chronicle. “He feels like his rookies need to learn more their first year so they could get everything down pat. I understood. I just wanted to wait patiently until my time was coming. My chance was here [in Houston], and I’m making the best of it.

“Fans there, they know what I can do. I just didn’t have the opportunity to show it.”[/rquoter]

The reporter probably told D'Antoni: "Hill said you didn't gave him an opportunity to show what he can do. What's your response?" without mentioning that Jordan said he understood D'Antoni's philosophy with regard to rookies.

That's the media for you.

 

Haha! Mike D'Antoni must really feel like a jackass now, lmao!

Dude had Hill practically glued to the bench and mishandled the whole situation!

Why da hell would you not play a guy your front office just drafted in the top 10? It boggles my mind that Johnathan Bender was getting more playing time than him!

His comments about Hill being a "bad" rookie is surely gonna motivate Hill to play with a chip on his shoulder, which is gonna be a good thing for him.

IMO, w/o Nash, D'Antoni is nothing!

 

Scola was ill the night before explains Scola's off game today. I hope he feels much better for tomorrow's game against the Bulls.

 

I don't think D'Antoni was talking about Hill but was making a generic comment about him not liking to play Rookies.

And it is getting twisted etc...

DD

 

Whether it was a shot at Hill or not hopefully it lights a fire under him.

We don't know how Hill played in practice for the Knicks so it's hard to really criticize what Mike said.

 

his tenure with the knicks has solidified my opinion that he is a truly bad coach that lucked out with getting steve nash on his team.

take away nash and d'antoni would be long gone from this league. as it is, i think his leash is getting very short.

 

Actually I watched the Knicks feed and they played that interview. The reporter asked him about his reason for not playing Rookies. He laughed it off and said "I don't like to play bad rookies."

Seemed pretty straight forward to me.

 

Wow... epic fail by D'Antoni

I think we should make a workout T-shirt for Jordan and send it to him.

 

Yea.. What D'Antoni meant to say was....


"Well, NY Media, the thing about that rookie "Hill" is he plays D. And that just isn't the way we play here. You think the guys that lead this team, the Al Harringtons, the Tmacs, the Gallinaris, you think they want to play that way? Why would we force that? Blocking shots, guarding the BALL? I don't give a two ****s if I look like the Pringle Man, that AIN'T gonna happen!"

 

wow that is a horrible way to act as a professional coach. That comment on Hill is really insulting. I can see why it rendered Hill speechless... I'd be kinda taken back too. Kinda' hits your deep when your ex coach takes cheap shots at you in the media. How does one respond? Geez. Glad he keeps his cool in those situations.

Hill is meant to be a Rocket. He's got a chip on his shoulder and he's definitely going to be making some people eat crow. Being on the Rockets is sometimes all it takes for talent to shine... aka Landry and Scola... and Lowry. I can't wait until Hill gets another year under his belt. He's a future starter in this league.

 

kind of a 180 from what Pringles was saying when the Knicks drafted Hill:

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pringles' expanded comments about not playing bad rookies:

http://www.zagsblog.com/2010/03/21/dantoni-i-dont-like-to-play-bad-rookies/


[rquoter]“I don’t like to play bad rookies , I like to play good rookies,” D’Antoni said before Houston met the Knicks Sunday at MSG.

Hill was the No. 8 pick in last June’s NBA Draft but was constantly compared to Milwaukee rookie Brandon Jennings, who was chosen 10th and is in contention for Rookie of the Year honors. The Knicks needed a point guard more than they appeared to need another frontcourt player.

“Jordan was in a position where we had Al [Harrington], Jared [Jeffries], David Lee, I tried to go with [Darko] Milicic for a while,” D’Antoni said.
“He didn’t get a great chance, I agree. But at he same time we’re trying to thread the needle and make the playoffs. There was no reason to say, ‘Jared, you don’t play. Let’s play Jordan.’”

He added: “It’s hard to do that. Until he has proven that he can beat the veteran out. Because you start putting rookies in and you got veterans sitting over there and the veterans [are] playing better. That’s not good for anybody.”

“Under normal cirumstances you would not do that [trade a rookie],” D’Antoni said. “This is not normal. This is where we are and we’ve gone through the last two years to put us in a position where we could get to where we wanted to go. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and do what you think is best. I think what [Knicks president] Donnie [Walsh] did was definitely the best thing to do.”

As for the loss of Hill, D’Antoni didn’t sound broken up.
“I do like Jordan,” he said. “I think he’ll be a nice player in the league, but that’s as far as it goes.”[/rquoter]

 

JORDAN HILL SUCKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

 

i was going to mentioned that int he game thread...he wasnt just having a bad game he was slow and sluggish, not even competing...had to be sick to play that way