I am pretty sure that when someone simply doesn't see "elite" front court player potential in him, it is different than saying he has peaked. I commend him on his improvement. With hard work I see him as a starting caliber player one day. Probably on the Cavs though.
Come on, DD. Yao's skills were obvious to anyone who watched him. Jermaine O'neal was being called the best post up player on their team by players, even though he wasn't in the rotation. You can get a sense of a guy's skill set and ability to develop by watching his first few years. Jordan Hill will continue to develop, no doubt -- but not into an all-star type player. He doesn't have it in him.. you can see it by watching his demeanor/skill set on the floor. When has he ever taken over a game offensively? The most 'dominating' performance he's had was defensively when he blocked a few shots against a rookie center in the fourth quarter of a game in his second year. Yao was dropping 20+ on the Lakers/Mavs in his FIRST year -- putting Yao's development in the same sentence as Jordan Hill's is about as stupid as comparing Chase Budinger's rookie stats to Kobe's.
While I agree we shouldn't be took quick to put a cap on how good a player can be, Yao's not a great example because he was providing all-star level productivity as a rookie. As for Hill ... he's actually scoring and rebounding less frequently in his second season than he did last year with us, and the minutes are about the same. Blocks are up, but assists are down and turnovers are up. His offensive game in the post has expanded a bit, but the consistency isn't yet there and overall it hasn't translated into him being a more productive player. It will be very interesting to see how he responds to the challenge in the coming weeks. The Rockets will be counting on him to step up, because he's one of the few players we have that can physically matchup with the upcoming teams.
Just because they do not take over a game offensively in their first 30 games played, doesn't mean they can't develop into a 20+pt scorer. Look at 2 x all-star David West or other all-star PF and centers in their first 50 games. They didn't take over the games, either. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3721/gamelog;_ylt=AkyKPsHiYpubMxgqtltNGY7WPKB4?year=2003 Zach Randolph wasn't taking over games either in his first 50 games. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3531/gamelog;_ylt=AtH84my0PD_4JHU4u_uRbVubPKB4?year=2001 Chris Kaman http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3709/gamelog;_ylt=AkyKPsHiYpubMxgqtltNGY7OPKB4?year=2003 Andrew Bynum(2nd in all-star votes for 2010-11, may eventually win starter) http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3936/gamelog;_ylt=Agd7BRO22jYBd1IJyf_wrE8hPaB4?year=2005
If Jordan is playing C, he wouldn't even need to become a 20 pt scorer to be an all-star. He can score 15 pts a game like Bynum.
We won't know anything at all until he gets 30-35 minutes a game for a month or two. I feel like Hill is a player that gets better as the game goes along, the longer he is in. I hope they give him a shot at large minutes one of these days. I'm not sure he is a Landry type that can explode off the bench every single night. He seems to be a flow of the game type of player.
His low IQ and relatively weak hand work leads to ebbs and flows. He has shown flashes of genuine promise,but he needs to show that he can be relied upon consistently. His foul rate is still high,despite his inexperience and the mismatches that he faces.
That's the blessing in disguise about Chuck's injury. By the end of January, we'll have a pretty good idea of what we have in Hill. He won't be quite the question mark he is now.
It is only stupid to you because you lack the foresight, and the ability to evaluate talent. With the team lacking anything even resembling an inside presence now, and an opportunity to start, in fact the biggest opportunity of his life, Jordan is really grabbing it by the horns. And steering it straight into that giant pile of manure. Anyways, nice thread. It is good to see that you have loosened your death grip on Budinger and moved on to greener pastures.
Jordan Hill is not ready to start, clearly, but he is not as bad as you make him out to be. Are you even a Rockets fan? DD
One game doesn't prove jack crap....sometimes matchups are bad.... When we had Yao, we killed the Nugs because he destroyed NeNe...... We need an attacking AB, not the jump shooting one.....and if he is not going to do it, we need to give Twill some time.... They were guarding the perimeter, we needed to attack that basket. Mentally weak people always look for blame to avoid reality. Don't join the mentally weak. DD
That much is clear. However 2 points 3 rebounds 4 fouls and more defensive and offensive break downs than you can shake a stick at is disappointing production no matter what role you are in. While certain skills look slightly more polished than last year, the overall package has not progressed. In fact, taking this year as a whole, if anything he has regressed. He is exactly as bad as I make him out to be, because I am simply pointing out what he is doing on the court. It is exactly because I am a Rockets fan that I am so critical of him. Do you not see him hurting the team out there? EDIT: Oh, and if you don't see it with your eye ball test, here's a guy that spells it out for you. It is not one game, but a year long phenomenon. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=198461
I agree, I am in the belief that Hill will be a good player...just not at the position he's playing at so I'm not surprised to see him struggle recently. When he was playing well it was when he came in and played PF. He looked like a completely different player then, hustling, blocking shots, snagging rebounds, dunking. That response wasn't towards you but the Hill thing reminds me of the Lowry/Brooks fans on here (again not you) but others who seem to celebrate when a player on the team is struggling.
I agree with you, Hill is not a center but don't tell that to the folks who want to burn him in effigy. DD
DD: It's way past time that you woke up and smelled the coffee here. Hill IS as bad as he looks. And so is Budinger, Brooks and the rest. That's no illusion out there on the court - that's reality. This isn't a real basketball team in the same sense of say the Spurs. Nope, it's a collection of players Morey assembled to "make a trade" for a star player to replace MeMac. Since said trade has yet to happen, RA has no choice but to play them and the more they play, the more they get exposed. Tonight they got killed inside again because Morey decided to gamble on Yao in the off season with no backup plan. Well, that plan has fizzled and now there is no real backup strategy in place because Morey hasn't a clue as to what to do next. As I posted before, I expect the January schedule to deliver the kill stroke to any lingering Rockets' playoff hopes.
