Solomon Hill has the opportunity of a life time. He was unheralded out of college and rarely saw the court as a rookie. If the Indiana Pacers were to be a good team this year, he would likely have filled the same on-court role as he did last year: none.
But all the stuff that happened happened.
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Paul George shattered his leg, Lance Stephenson is gone, and both of the team’s qualified point guards will start the year on the injured list. The Pacers need live bodies to mop up perimeter minutes.
Frank Vogel, at least publicly, likes Hill, so he would have gotten some shot this season even if the recent injuries hadn’t hit. But now, Solomon must be looking around like, “Man, it would be hard to mess this up.”
The only problem is that we don’t know if Solomon Hill is remotely good at basketball. By December 1, he may be starting or he may have already played his way out of the rotation. I would be surprised by neither.
Us 8p9s contributors had an email thread about Solomon’s play in the preseason, and these were some of the terms mentioned.
- doesn’t look like an nba quality rotation guy
- he’s a “3 and D” guy that can’t yet shoot threes and might not be a good defender
- total lack of offense from beyond 10 feet
- just needs time on the court
- Sam Young is a veteran that Hill could potentially resemble
- I thought he’d be better, honestly
- a little too small for his skill set and doesn’t shoot well enough to stay on the floor
- still lacking aggressiveness, assertiveness and focus
- looks like what he always was: the 26th pick in a garbage draft
So there you have it. The expectations aren’t through the roof.
But even with Chris Copeland and Damjan Rudez likely to see some time at small forward, Solomon Hill should get plenty of chances to prove the doubters wrong.
Everyone else is injured and right now the Pacers need him.
If ever there was a time to shine, this is yours, Solomon Hill.
– Jared Wade (follow @8pts9secs)
Relevant GIF
If you plan to follow the 2014-15 Indiana Pacers, you’ll need a sense of humor. Laugh so you don’t cry. And what’s funnier than Archer? Nothing. Nothing is the answer.
Key 2013-14 Stats
- 7.6 player efficiency rating (PER)
- 1.7 points per game
- 51.3% eFG%
- 23.2 turnover rate
- 30.4% on 3-pointers
One Key Question
Can Solomon Hill do enough on offense to earn consistent, meaningful minutes?
The Situation: Solomon Hill has a lot of NBA ready skills: He is a solid defender, a good off-ball cutter, and seems to have a good feel for the game. However, he has yet to show much skill with the ball, whether off the dribble or catching and shooting.
Best-case Scenario: Hill’s offseason work pays off and he becomes at least league average on corner 3s. Just that skill set alone would make him significantly more playable, as opposing defenses wouldn’t be able to ignore him entirely. When defenders respect you as a shooter, it becomes much easier to attack off the dribble, and Hill learns how to exploit this by getting into the interior.
Worst-case Scenario: Hill tops out as a slightly better version of Chris Singleton, competently guarding multiple positions, but consistently bad on the offensive end. Pacers fans start looking back fondly on the days of Dahntay Jones and Sam Young.
Prediction: Hill’s shooting gets better throughout the season, and by year’s end, he’s approaching the “we actively let him shoot from there” mark of 35%. Once the shooting comes, he can work more on his off-the-bounce game.
– William Furr (follow @William_Furr)
How He Scores
The above spiderweb chart shows, via Synergy Sports, what types of possessions lead to his points in 2013-14. (created by Tim Donahue, follow
)
Transitions and spot ups were about all he did last year, with a handful of cuts and points off screens. In short: Solomon Hill showed no signs that he can create any offense. This could have been due to the small sample size of his limited playing time or because he is a rookie. But it also could be due to the fact that he is incapable of creating any offense in the NBA.
His 2013-14 shot chart, via Nylon Calculus
Sample size limits Solomon Hill’s shot chart from being of much use, but he at least has a few 3-point hot spots, which is mildly encouraging. Though he made just 30% of his looks from deep last year, he will need to find some comfort spots on the arc to be much help this year. It would really help out if he became consistent from the corner 3 spot.