The Indiana Pacers have had a rough, injury-riddled season, but one bright spot has been Solomon Hill. With Paul George currently rehabilitating from a horrific leg injury, Hill has had big shoes to fill.
He hasn’t emerged as a potential star in the way that Paul George did when Danny Granger went down, but he is showing great signs of improvement during this season.
He started the season giving fans a young, promising player to root for. His offense has struggled since, but a few recent outings — including an efficient 15-point night against the Raptors this week — have reignited some hope.
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People seem to forget that while Solomon is in his second season, this is actually the first year in which he has received significant minutes. Defensively, he has shown reasons to believe that he could be a lock-down defender next to Paul George. Offensively, he has glaring holes in his game (3-point shooting, finishing at the rim) that need to be addressed during the offseason.
Solomon Hill stands at 6’7” and weighs 225 lbs. He has the size to pair nicely with Paul George on the perimeter when he returns. His lateral quickness, speed, strength, vertical jump, and other physical talents show that he has some serious potential.
To get a sense of what the Indiana Pacers may have in Hill, we look at his best five games of the season so far.
Next: Toronto Raptors
5th Best Solomon Hill Game
December 12, 2014: Indiana Pacers at Toronto Raptors
A December 12 outing against the Toronto Raptors was the most efficient game Solomon Hill has had this season. He scored 16 points off of 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 shooting from the free-throw line, making this the only game in his career where he has scored over 15 points while shooting at least 60% from the field.
Most impressive of all was that he did this coming off the bench, as he was demoted from the starting lineup.
Hill is at his best when he is attacking the basket, getting to the free-throw line, and shooting catch-and-shoot jump shots. And that is exactly what he did in this game.
The Pacers failed to get a win in this game as well, losing to Toronto 106-94 on the road. This loss put the Pacers at 7-16 on the season overall, but Solomon Hill’s contributions didn’t stop at scoring, he had 3 blocks, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls. He also did a tremendous defensive job on Terrance Ross, holding the wing to 8 points on 3-for-11 shooting.
Next: Portland Trail Blazers
4th Best Solomon Hill Game
December 4, 2015: Indiana Pacers at Portland Trail Blazers
This game against the Portland Trail Blazers was another great example of an all-around efficient contribution from Solomon Hill. He scored a 15 points off of 7-for-11 shooting from the field in one of his most aggressive displays of the season.
Hill managed to get into the paint off the dribble, moving without the basketball, and by using the pick and roll. When he was given spot-up jump shots, he made the most of them.
He scored a 15 points off of 7-for-11 shooting from the field in one of his most aggressive displays of the season.
Indiana lost this game 88-82 to the Trail Blazers, and it was really a hopeless affair after the Pacers scored just 14 points in the first quarter and 33 in the first half. Sure, the game was close and Hill played well, but Indiana really struggled to get in striking distance.
To go with his scoring, Solomon Hill also added 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.
Next: Golden State Warriors
3rd Best Solomon Hill Game
January 7, 2015: Golden State Warriors at Indiana Pacers
After a hot start to the season, Solomon Hill cooled off. After averaging 13.1 points per game in November his scoring plummeted to just 8.8 per game in December. He went more than seven weeks without recording a 20-point game.
That changed against the Golden State Warriors, however.
Solomon Hill finished the game with 21 points off of 8-of-15 shooting. Not only did he effectively read the Warriors’ defense, he was aggressive and attacked the holes that they were showing. He did a great job of not only getting to the paint, but finishing in it. His perimeter jumper was a little shaky, but that’s a work in progress.
Again, this was a game where George Hill and Rodney Stuckey were out, so any offensive contributions were greatly appreciated. With a great team like Golden State, good defense just isn’t enough. They ended up losing the game 117-102, the second half really lost Indiana the game. The score was tied 50-50 at the half, then they got out scored 67-52 in the second half.
This loss was a tough one, as Indiana fell to 14-23 on the season. But there was no shame in losing to Golden State, which improved to 28-5 with the win — including an astounding 15-1 record at home.
Klay Thompson lit them up for 40, and Hill was at fault at times for this outburst. But really the Pacers were just out matched offensively, and Hill spent much of his time defending Andre Iguoldala and Harrison Barnes as well. For an inexperience wing, he did an adequate job of staying with such active and athletic players.
Next: Chicago Bulls
2nd Best Solomon Hill Game
November 15, 2014: Indiana Pacers at Chicago Bulls
Solomon Hill, A.J. Price, and Luis Scola were instrumental in the Indiana Pacers best win of the year, a 99-90 road victory in Chicago. The trio combined for 63 points, and Hill scored 21 of those on just 14 shots. He also pulled down 12 boards.
Solomon Hill didn’t just shoulder some of the offensive load, he was a massive asset on the defensive side of the ball.
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Whether he was on Jimmy Butler, Mike Dunleavy, Tony Snell, Nikola Mirotic, or Doug McDermott, he forced them to take the most difficult shots possible. Jimmy Butler may have had 32 points, but he did play 41 minutes and got many of his buckets when Solomon Hill wasn’t defending him.
This game was tight buzzer to buzzer, but Chicago never led at any point.
Indiana managed to either out score or tie in every quarter with Chicago, and Hill’s 8 points and 6 boards in the fourth quarter helped ensure Indiana outdid one of its biggest rivals on the road.
Next: Washington Wizards
Best Solomon Hill Game
November 8, 2014: Washington Wizards at Indiana Pacers
Solomon Hill had his NBA breakout game early this season against the Washington Wizards. He dropped a — by far — career-high 28 points. But it wasn’t just 28 points, it was an efficient 28 points, as he shot 10-for-19 from the field and 7-11 from the free-throw line.
And his contributions didn’t stop at scoring: Solomon Hill notched 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 steals. Equally impressive was how hard he played through 43 minutes of action as the Indiana Pacers perimeter rotation was plagued by injuries.
Indiana was on a five-game losing streak at the time, and that became six straight losses against the Wizards despite Hill’s great game. But Indiana showed resilience amid catastrophe and it originated from Solomon Hill.
The leadership and scoring punch proved that he may someday develop into a high-caliber two-way player in this league.
The Pacers seven best players were unable to play. This was the starting lineup: Donald Sloan, Solomon Hill, Chris Copeland, Luis Scola, and Roy Hibbert. But Hibbert played just 11 minutes after leaving early on with a knee bruise, leaving plenty of playing time for Ian Mahinmi (26 minutes), Damjan Rudez (26 minutes), A.J Price (18 minutes), Lavoy Allen (12 minutes) and even Shayne Whittington (8 minutes).
And Solomon Hill stepped up to be a leader in this game.
Indiana fell down big early, trailing Washington 32-14 at the end of first quarter and 54-35 at the half. But the Pacers then mounted an impressive third quarter behind 12 points in the period from Hill to trim the Wizards’ lead to just 6 points.
Ultimately, the Wizards were too good and the Pacers were too shorthanded. But Hill showed the heights of his potential by bringing his team back to make this one respectable on a night when nobody was healthy.
Solomon did a fantastic defensive job in this game, too. His assignment, Paul Pierce, shot just 2-for-13 from the field. He played physical defense and also showed quick foot speed during this game, which is likely why he ended up causing “The Truth” to have one of his worst games of the season.
These are the types of games that really show off the defensive potential that Solomon Hill provides to a team. And we have seen this on numerous occasions. But the leadership and scoring punch proved that he may someday develop into a high-caliber two-way player in this league.