I found a pretty good breakdown (w/ videos included) of why Hill has been struggling in the Summer League and what he needs to work on. It's fairly interesting, slightly more technical stuff (and I'm really coming to enjoy reading the site daily). For the record, I think the guy's pretty much spot on in terms of his evaluation. http://nbaplaybook.com/2010/07/16/jordan-hills-post-up-struggles/#more-3516 Here's the text part of the article, keep in mind that the guy uses videos to show what he's talking about:
Evaluating Hill as a center is unfair to his career. He is mobile PF who is being shifted to center because of his height and the Rockets' current needs. I doubt that 2-Pat would fare any better playing out of his natural PF position, especially since he is only 6-8. That's not a knock on 2-Pat, just the reality when someone plays out of his natural position. I fear the Rockets and fans will give up on Hill because he won't be as effective at center as 2-Pat will be at PF. If they were both competing for Scola's PF spot, IMO Hill would be the better backup.
The reason he is still raw is the reason why the rockets don't need a developing young with POTENTIAL as much as a team who's rebuilding. Patterson is much more NBA ready.
The basic point of the article is very true. He has no back-to-the-basket set-offense post game. But he was a pretty solid rotation guy last year without it. He can hit a 15 foot jumper, and he's decent with putting in little dinky stuff around the basket when the defense is broken down off a drive or off a rebound. For a really big guy he has a very explosive first couple of steps and is a very explosive and quick jumper putting offensive stuff back in. I mean, if you put Chuck Hayes in the post and fed him the ball expecting him to score, he'd look like a pretty inept player, too. The key with Hill is understanding what he is and isn't. He's not going to be a guy you run the offense through. He can be a nice complementary power forward whose range and athleticism helps to spread the floor for Yao.
probably, but the vid examples had him matched up against roughly equal opponents. improving his post game is a must ... PF or C
Different players. Different roles. Summer league is a nice test to see what the players have been working but is no way indicative of their actual play in the NBA. I promise you Jordan Hill will not be getting looks in the post off of set plays with Yao,Miller,and Scola on the team. He just has to be a high energy and finish around the hoop to serve this team. Dejuan Wagner would be 6 NBA-All Star if the summer league meant really, anything.
I think this is why Adelman said he was pretty disappointed in certain performances during the summer league. I think he was singling out Hill, Chase, and Taylor. A lot more is being expected of Hill. New York already gave up on Hill, clearly by trading him away to clear cap space this off season. Hill can be an all-star, but coaches can't wait 5 years for a guy to develop. Can he help enough while he develops?