Great article. I still hope the Rockets somehow get Hakeem to work with their young bigs for at least a couple of weeks during the offseason. I think especially for a guy like Jordan some time with Hakeem could work wonders, if he's willing to listen and learn.
I dont remember Hakeem being as awkward as JHill on the court, but then again I didnt watch a ton of video/film on Hakeem in college. I think a major difference between the two has been their respect basketball pedagogies. Hakeem didnt have a strong basketball background, so early on he dedicated himself to becoming a defensive presence and worked hard to develop his offensive game. Conversely, it seems like whatever dedication JHill has had to learning basketball has been primarily on the offensive end. If he keeps working at it, I think he'll be a solid rotation player for someone out there, but what will ultimately define him will be whether or not he figures out the defensive side of the ball. That remains to be seen...
The above get it on the offensive, because those 3 are absolutely horrible on the defensive end. It amazes that Chase with 40 plus vertical let's guys shoot over him. He could let them jump first and still block their shot. He's so afraid of physical contact while on D, it's almost commical. Kmart fakes at playing D and gets burned Scola, has the slowest reaction time that I've seen in a while. So let's not be so hard on a guy who's been playing ball for 4 or 5 years.
I don't think Jordan's "awkward" style of play is the main problem. I've always felt that Chris Bosh is more of a really awkward/herky-jerky type player than Hill is. Jordan's main problem this season has been his consistency. His best game this season, from what I've seen, was the second Lakers game when he played great defense against Gasol and grabbed key rebounds in crunch time. And once in a while he'll be able to make a really smooth and definitive move that'll make you think he can be an all-star. In his rookie year, I really was impressed by his activity, reaction time, and his quick jumping ability. However, there's been many games this year when he lacks that activity and has an "I'm lost" type of composure when playing. He's gotta become a more solid player, and not just play in spurts, if he's gonna have a future with this team.
...nice article although it's almost that the point of article is that Houston got burned because Hill is never likely to pan out like an 8th pick should but I think that misses the brilliance of the trade - Houston got at least one and maybe two lotto picks for picking up Jeffries contract. That's a decent score. As for Hill, reps are going to help him a lot - it's not just about know where to be and how to move, but being able to do that at game speed - on the NBA level. I think most people who have played before can attest to how much easier it is to shoot the ball in practice than when someone is trying to close you out at game speed. On the NBA level I imagine it's even more difficult but I'm glad Hill is getting these reps here rather than the D-league. Still though, I can't see him being anything more than a guy who on most nights will cancel out his opponent in terms of overall impact - a guy doesn't do anything exceptionally but can do a lot of things well enough that his overall impact on the court isn't a negative for his team. If he can do that though, he'll always have a spot on an NBA roster somewhere.
I looked up Jordan Hill in the dictionary. Here's what I found. Jordan Hill —Project 1. Lacks polish, fundementally awkward, lacks fluidity, missing instinctive elements, natural athlete not so much natural basketball player. —Antonyms 1. Kevin Love
There inlies the glaring difference between Hill and PPat - PPat seems to know ahead of time what he's going to do after setting a pick or getting in position under the basket. You rarely see PPat just standing still in the middle of a play. Hill's lack of BB IQ is going to prevent him from being a starter (on a good team), unless he's the best option due to injury.
Yes, yes., of course. Picture this, fellas: you have just suddenly become a fire fighter. They have no training program, it's all OJT. A week later, you get to go to your first fire, and you don't get to just watch - they need you to perform. No matter how hard you worked that week, you are not going to be smooth. You are going to get confused. You are under pressure: not only are people depending on you, maybe for their lives, but there might be 40-50 people watching you. You stumble through it. Not a disaster, but you weren't a machine out there. You go back to the station, and your fellow fire fighters give you lots of advice on how to behave. Second time out, it's better. You're still not smooth, but you make less mistakes. Every time out, it gets better and better. Hill is playing with people that had 10-15 years in this before they got drafted. Just because he's awkward, doesn't mean he'll stay awkward. I really think we have no idea how good he's going to be. I have no doubt that he'll be a decent rotation player in a year, and quite possibly, he can be a decent starting C by the playoffs. It wouldn't surprise me at all, say, for him to be as good as Thabeet by then. After that, who knows?
I have a thread about that very thing brewing, but it is not about him avoiding contact, I think that having Shane teach him has screwed him up, he can't defend like Shane, he should defend like himself, which means tightening up and getting wide....instead of laying off and attacking late like Shane does. Yeah, as I said, reminds me of Dream his freshman year at UH. DD
if you'r not a natural bball player, you have to work extremely hard and take many many years to become a good bball player. yao is a typical example. fortunately, he started to play when he was 7 or 9 years old. he hasn't stopped play since then. it finally makes him a good bball player at his age of 20s. are we going to wait a decade to let hill develope? :grin:
He reminds of this guy I used to play ball with. The man could outjump and outrun everyone, but he was hardly under control. We use to call him "wild child". LOL. Anyways, I think Jhill just needs to put a lot work in the gym practicing fundamentals. Once he gets that, then he can start expanding his game. He kind off reminds me of a more offensive and less defensive Tyson Chandler.
This was a very interesting point which I agree with. Hill picked up basketball relatively late and it shows in his movements and lack of fluidity in comparison to a person like Patterson. As a rockets fan, I can only hope that he develops a greater basketball IQ and continue to work on his game. You can hear on the court when Rockets are trying to run a play, where I assume Jordan would be clueless, or do something wrong and you can hear Lowry yell, "COME ON JORDAN."
I really think his floppy hair plays into his awkward label. Even some of the smoothest guys in the game (nash/dirk) looked silly with long locks.
That article was pretty accurate to me. What it also says is that its not a bbiq either. He's not a natural,he's more mechanical than you would like. I also thinks that he will get better with more playing time and his thoughts and instincts are in synce with his body. Last year with the knicks, I wouldve sent him to the d-league early and just let him play. He needs minutes,situations, and just overral experience. He will be a player who will be alot better at 28 than he is now. His "prime" will justify his draft position.I would just play him and allow him to make his mistakes.
The writer hit the nail on the head. "Awkward" is the word that has eluded me the whole season. But that sums it up in a single word.
The writer hit the nail on the head. "Awkward" is the word that has eluded me the whole season. But that sums it up in a single word.
Even if his mistakes are costing us games? If we've reached that point, I'd rather give those minutes to Patterson.
Jord Jord is a front seat kind of player. Pat Pat is a back seat type of player. So give minute to Jord Jord!!!
