Is "awkward" the new euphemism for "bad"? While technically the description is right, lets cut the excuses and call a spade a spade here. The guy only looks "awkward" because he doesn't know how to play basketball. Good luck teaching that to a 23 year old.
Holy hell, he really started playing ball at 17? In that case, he's amazing... We need to give him some more time with us.
This season is slipping away as far as making the playoffs, and so I'm not going push hard on Jordan's minutes being reduced. Maybe its for the best to "develop" him. But, as a basketball fan, let me just say that watching him perform on the floor is painful. Nothing personal against him; its just hard for me to enjoy the game when he's playing.
i would like to see hill play with twill off the bench, and have jeffries start. the scola/hill defense is painful. 1. hill needs to play with a slasher that can get him easy baskets 2. hill is not chuck hayes(his strength isn't passing, and its nonsense for adelman to throw him into that role) 3. adelman himself said hill needs to be around the basket at all times, but instead hes standing at the high post waiting to make a lazy pass only positive i noticed last night was hill was making decent cuts to the basket after setting screens, lately he would set screens and stand there
i never liked hill, he's got potential, but so is everyone else playing in this league, it's just sad that he did not pan out well. He will be a career backup, book it.
The article sounds pretty right, but Hill will get better with age. I think he's improved since he got here, and I'm sure he'll continue to make fundamental improvements for several years.
So he satrted ball at the age of 17 and due to late start he is struggling in the NBA. But he is pretty good for someone who picked up the game so late. No matter how good he is for someone who started the game late - bottom line - he is not good enough for a spot on this team. He cant play the 5, so who gets bumped for Hill to develop? He needs at least another 3 years to develop. At his max potential I see him as a slightly better Chris Wilcox. He is just not worth all the time and effort. Scola>Hill, Pat>Hill, Hayes>Hill.
He was wayyyy more effective off the bench. I am worried, for Hill and for his trade value, which has been shot to hell. At least before, he was enticing to others it seemed. I am worried about JHill. He needs an offseason of weightlifting and an ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT. PLAY F'ING HARD!!!
That read was spot on, especially the part about Hill floating away in pick in rolls. With his athleticism he could really do damage in a pick and roll situation with shooters like AB and K-Mart, and if he had a consistent midrange jumper a pick and pop would help him tremendously.
A lot of posters have touched on exactly what I feel in watching Hill. He is awkward and yes he has only played organized ball limitedly but he was a kid right. I'm sure he played his share of games growing up. Even Hakeem didn't pick up a basketball until his college days but you could see real development, real footwork, even his very first year playing. It's looking more and more like Morey got a beatdown in this trade after all.
Mechanical, lacks polish, non-instinctive, KILL HILL! I'm smart, I HATE dumb people Really now, beatdown? After people on this board call for DJ Mbenga or any big man that can walk and chew gum at the same time, that we even got a "center" that can be somewhat trusted enough to start games is decent compared to what we gave up (the carcass of Tracy McGrady). Plus Kevin Martin + an extra 1st round pick? Hill isn't materializing compared to the expectations, but to make it like he's making the franchise tumble out of control is a bit much.
I would and I would have last yr,but if the team isnt going anywhere even with vets, play him. At this point, hill and patterson should be playing 30+ minutes. If they could get jason thompson or someone like that, then trade him. Deckard, the team is going nowhere. They get hayes back, shane and scola keeps playing heavy minutes and the team wins 37 games. So what? What does that do for us besides give us the 14th player again?
I see too many people out of focus here, please regain perspective with Hill. The guy is first and foremost, a project. What has he proven so far? A) That he is good on spot minutes off the bench, As Knote32 mentions. B) That he is not ready to be a starter and this circumstance only reinforces the notion that he is still a project. What has he not proven? That he is a failure. Why? Because this team had a plan (Yao) then a back-up (Miller) then a back-up plan (Hayes) then a back-up to the back-up plan (Hill). This overage kid is just a last resort, he just happens to be the guy who most resembles a Center and thus is playing out of time and out of position. At this stage you can’t give up on Hill, he is not a bust because he has always been a project and will be for at least a year and a half more. Would I want to wait on him that long? No, I would prefer he tried elsewhere and we use him as a trading chip, but the kid still deserves the benefit of the doubt, he is supposed to be the 4th option in our frontcourt not the first.
Regarding giving him more leeway by making him the starter I think it may backfire on him, by playing 30 minutes a game he is not going to suddenly learn team defense. Jordan Hill’s deficiencies are the kind that you work on a step by step basis through practice; it would also be good for him to have experience being The Man in the D-league but according to our history, he is past that stage. I think he would benefit more by having as short a leash as he had at the beginning of the season. (Of course that strategy would hinge on us fighting for the playoffs).
I can't get over how much some of you guys overrate this kid's athleticism. He isn't Chris Wilcox for certain when it comes to athleticism. He's a young, skinny guy with slightly above average athleticism for a big with horrible hands and no instinct for the game. He's been playing five years so it isn't like he is that far from his ceiling. If he was, we would have seen huge improvements from the time he arrived here last season until now. We have not seen that. It reminds me a bit of how people compared Ariza's athleticism to young McGrady early last year. It's that bad.
Then how in the hell did he go #8 in the 2009 draft? Somebody was smoking doobies obviously. No, he doesn't have instinct but he should still play like it's his contract year, meaning putting in the effort night after night. When you get a chance to start for a team, you should show that you want to be there. Yeah, his instinct for the game is low but so is his passion. I really believe he needs to lay off the chronic.
This is spot on as far as mental approach goes; he must have urgency if he wants to get over the hump. Hopefully, his quietness is more a temperament thing than an issue of passiveness.
