Feb 7, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) brings the ball up court against the Portland Trail Blazers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Portland 118-113 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY SportsI will use last night’s game to solidify my point that I still believe George Hill is the right man for this job at point guard. I know usually when trade rumors come up, his name seems to be out there.
I also know that the Indiana Pacers won’t get 37 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists from George Hill every night or even that often. But what you do get from Hill is solid play throughout the season.
You get a guy that will pull a teammate aside on the court and talk to him about what’s going on. You’ll get someone who plays with some fire when things are going right for him. You’ll get a guy that embraces this “hometown” hero persona for the Indiana Pacers, which, to me, might be the best aspect of his game.
I’m an Indiana guy myself. I’ve lived here. I’ve played basketball here in my younger days. I’ve enjoyed the Indiana Pacers for years. To have someone like Hill, a guy who went to Broad Ripple High School and IUPUI for his college days, that’s something special. It shows what basketball means to the state. It shows that someone out shooting at a basket on an empty court can be someone.
That’s an important aspect to also remember when you look beyond how George plays with a good sense of control. I don’t look for him to get rattled much when he’s out there playing. If anything, I look for him to get fired up more times than not when the Pacers are rolling.
I know Hill isn’t in that status of “top” point guards, but at the same time, the Indiana Pacers don’t need a “top” point guard when you have Paul George doing his thing, David West holding court, Roy Hibbert protecting the middle, Lance Stephenson playing like a ball of fire, and all the rest of the team doing what they can to help out. George Hill is that glue that clings this team together.
When the time came to bring him here to Indiana, I knew that they were setting up a good future at point guard, which honestly, has been a long time coming. I’ve said before when you look over the point guard position of the Indiana Pacers, it’s hard to remember what guys were good for them. Sure there were decent players in Haywoode Workman, Vern Fleming, Travis Best. But even those guys had their flaws. You could throw Mark Jackson in that discussion as the “best” point guard of the Indiana Pacers.
But I would put George Hill ahead of the bunch with the way his game has helped improve this Indiana Pacers team. I even said once he got here, he should be starting, and once Darren Collison went down a few season ago, and Hill took over, it hasn’t been a discussion who is the right point guard for this team.