Indiana Pacers Starters Mid-Season Grades
By Evan Reller
George Hill
11 PPG – 3.8 RPG – 3.6 APG – .98 SPG
Grade: B
For some reason, fans love to put Hill on the trading block. They are insistent that the Hometown Hero needs to be traded away for a more competent point guard if the Pacers really want to win a title. Why make trades when the team chemistry is outstanding and the Pacers sit near the top of the NBA?
To those people, I point to the above clip. That game might be the turning point for Hill, who actually is a fairly decent point guard on a team that doesn’t need an amazing one. Far too often he has been a passive participant for the Pacers, but when he attacks and works to get open he is a heck of a player.
The Pacers aren’t built for a Rajon Rondo type player, who would take shots away from George and assists from Stephenson.
We’ve seen the passive Hill a little too much, but sometimes the game plan calls for him to get out of the way and let the other four do work. The truth is that he can’t be passive against a team like the Heat, as we saw in Miami. I’d rather have Hill than Mario Chalmers.
Hill is generally a solid defender, but a game like he had against the Blazers tends to skew what people think of him (there are few players alive who could adequately defend Damian Lillard). A more active Hill puts this team over the edge and well on their way to a championship.
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