The Overlooked Benefit of Grant Hill

[fordronken]

Free throws. Against the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs last year, Hill went to the line at least 6 times in every game, and went 13 times in game 2.

Granted, shooting 6 free throws doesn't mean he can get to the basket whenever he wants, but adding a few free throws to this free throw inept team could be huge in the playoffs.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Free throws. Against the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs last year, Hill went to the line at least 6 times in every game, and went 13 times in game 2.

Granted, shooting 6 free throws doesn't mean he can get to the basket whenever he wants, but adding a few free throws to this free throw inept team could be huge in the playoffs.

Orlando has a lack of offensive weapons. There is no lack of that here in Phoenix.

 

[fordronken]

Orlando has a lack of offensive weapons. There is no lack of that here in Phoenix.

So the Pistons were just fouling him to help out the Magic offense? That seems likely.

Look. Grant Hill is a veteran player who knows how to draw fouls, and more importantly, tends to get them called in his favor. Go back and watch the Suns in the playoffs again and tell me that wouldn't be pretty helpful.

 

[nashman]

Hill can create for himself that alone makes him light years better than JJ for less money even.

 

[Maligzar]

Hill actually is going to be a liability as a free throw shooter. I think he's like 75% career wise compared to the Suns shooting 80%+ the last couple years.

 

[nashman]

Hill is NOT a liability thats just crazy! If Hill is a liability as you say what the hell was James "suck ass" Jones?

 

[sharkman]

Free throws. Against the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs last year, Hill went to the line at least 6 times in every game, and went 13 times in game 2.

Granted, shooting 6 free throws doesn't mean he can get to the basket whenever he wants, but adding a few free throws to this free throw inept team could be huge in the playoffs.

I agree. The Suns offense worked like a well oiled machine when the wings were hitting the threes...but when the shots were off, teams used that time to close the gap (anyone else cringe when a 17 point lead became a 6 point lead before D'Antoni called a timeout?)

Hill is a player similar to Tony Parker in that he can score even when his shot isn't falling. He can manufacture points by slashing to the hoop for the lay in...or drawing the foul.

I love Marion for the little things he does (rebounds, defense, tip ins, ally oops)...but it was painful to see Shawn jacking up threes when the offense stalled. It will be nice to have another weapon.

 

[Gaddabout]

I thought the overlooked benefit of Grant Hill is we'll all become more acquainted with the science of podiatry.

 

[HooverDam]

I think the overlooked benefit is the free Sprite we may be getting at the games. And the fact that we can watch a player wear Fila shoes and just think "Wtf?"

 

[sharkman]

I thought the overlooked benefit of Grant Hill is we'll all become more acquainted with the science of podiatry.

Why, does he suffer from corns, bunions or ingrown toenails?

(I think he sees an orthopedic surgeon for his ankles).

 

[Gaddabout]

Why, does he suffer from corns, bunions or ingrown toenails?

(I think he sees an orthopedic surgeon for his ankles).

Whatever it is that ails him, we'll know more about it than anyone in Sun City.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

So the Pistons were just fouling him to help out the Magic offense? That seems likely.

No, because he had the ball in his hands and was driving to the basket much more than he will be asked to do in Phoenix. You can't go to the foul line without the ball. (not technically true, but you know what I mean)

 

[Errntknght]

IMO, the most important thing about Hill's garnering FTs is that they show that he can still take the ball to the hoop - before someone pointed out how many FTAs he got I was thinking he's become just a jump shooter.

Its possible that Hill will not be quite the assist man we are hoping for - last year he got only 2.1 per game. Turkoglu got 3.2 in the same minutes as Hill. Of course, they needed Hill to score so its entirely possible the stats just reflect that and not his ability to make plays.

 

[hafey]

Re: assists

who's making jump shots on that Orlando team besides Hedo anyways?

 

[az1965]

If he stays healthy and is in the starting lineup, I see Hill being 2nd in FT attempts on Suns team behind Amare. That's a big positive.

 

[fordronken]

If he stays healthy and is in the starting lineup, I see Hill being 2nd in FT attempts on Suns team behind Amare. That's a big positive.

Of course, all that means is that he averages, what, 3 a game?

 

[Errntknght]

Last year Hill averaged 5.0 FTA/game.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Just doing a little investigating. Judging from testimony from fans in other cities.

1. Hill's defense is never mentioned as a liability. In fact, he is described as a solid defender. That's probably more than most expected here. I think we assumed because of the injuries that his D was non-existent.

2. His tendency to run his own "iso" plays was a frustration to some Orlando fans because they thought he should play more team ball. Hmmm. That could be an issue. However, the supporting cast in Orlando might have demaded he do more of that. He is a smart player, with good vision, and passing skills. There is no reason to be believe that he won't be able to adapt to the Suns sharing style of basketball.

3. His ability to draw fouls is huge. I can't see how his FT% is a liability as long as it is close to JJ's and he is taking free throws that we would not have had opportunity to take otherwise.

4. He has been playing the 2 in Orlando. So we could use him as a backup to Raja, for a little bigger look.

 

[az1965]

Of course, all that means is that he averages, what, 3 a game?

Nash averaged 3.3 last year. Hopefully, Hill averages somewhere between 4-5.

 

[az1965]

Last year Hill averaged 5.0 FTA/game.

But he was the primary scorer. Here he will not have that many touches, I think. But, at the same time the pace of the game will be faster so the number of possessions will be higher.

 

[pokerface]

Another benefit....It makes KG want to play for the Suns even more now.

 

[hafey]

For the MLE in one more season....

 

[azirish]

No, because he had the ball in his hands and was driving to the basket much more than he will be asked to do in Phoenix. You can't go to the foul line without the ball. (not technically true, but you know what I mean)

Why do you think the Suns didn't slash to the basket? Were they under orders to jack up contested threes, or was it just that the only guys who were good at slashing to the basket were Amare, Barbosa, and Nash. Everything were heard was that they were begging Diaw to attack the basket rather than just pass around the outside.

A major key in getting to the basket is to have a good "handle", ie that it is not easily stolen. Hill has a reputation for a good handle, which is essential for being an effective slasher. Diaw still lacks a good handle which is why most people feel he is not able to play PG.

The offensive impact of Hill will be far greater than that of Jones.

Last season Hill took 660 field goal attemps in 2009 minutes, for an average of 0.328 per minute. Jones took 440 field goal attempts in 1376 minutes or 0.319 per minute. That's surprisingly close.

Where they were different was that while Hill took 324 free throws (0.16 per minute) while Jones took only 81 (0.059 per minutes). Hill had 0.49 free throws per field goal attempt compared to Jones' 0.18.
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It is not clear how many of Hill's free throws were "and one". If we assume no more than 10%, this would mean there were 146 trips to the line without having made the shot (292/2) for a total of 802 possessions (0.399). BTW, Nash had 971 FGA in 2682 minutes plus 247 FTA for 0.403 attemps per minute.
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I'm sure these stats can get bewildering, but the conclusion I draw is that Hill's ability to get to the line is a big part of his game. At 76.5% he's a decent free throw shooter, although he shot better in 2004-05 at 82.1%.

His ability to make his own shot is indicated by the fact that the Magic averaged only 18.6 assists per game (2.1 of them by him) and their lead guy had only 4.3 assists per game. They ranked 29th in the NBA compared to the Suns who were #1 with 25.87 assists per game.

Hill's ability to get to the line should more than offset his lack of range on his shot. In playing the Spurs, he would might force them to use Bowen on Hill rather than Nash since he could post up Parker.
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BTW, it has said that Hill was the primary offensive option of the Magic. He wasn't. In terms of field goal attemps:

Howard - 873
Nelson - 875
Turkoglu -823
Hill - 660
Milicic - 548

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

i think one of the biggest benefits is we have an off ball slasher that can bring more pressure to the nash-amare pick and roll, with hill in the SF position you have nash with the option of kicking it back out to raja, driving it himself, dishing to amare, dishing to a slashcutdash hill, or oop it to marion

thats 5 valid threats that all need to be catered to differently

For the win.

 

[dodie53]

hill drives to the baskets often which is good,
other suns players might emulate him..