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The George Hill and David West Pick-and-Roll Is Back

By Ben Gibson

Oct 30, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Indiana Pacers point guard George Hill (3) celebrates with power forward David West (21) after hitting a three point basket over New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday (not pictured) during the fourth quarter of a game at New Orleans Arena. The Pacers defeated the Pelicans 95-90. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Indiana Pacers point guard George Hill (3) celebrates with power forward David West (21) after hitting a three point basket over New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday (not pictured) during the fourth quarter of a game at New Orleans Arena. The Pacers defeated the Pelicans 95-90. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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The return of George Hill to the Indiana Pacers lineup has sparked a stagnant offense and made them look much more like an NBA team offensively than we’d seen all year.

The team has gone 8-4 since his return, and all the offseason hype about Hill becoming more aggressive this year have proven to be true.

But one thing that hasn’t changed much is that defenses are still getting a heavy dose of of the George Hill-David West pick and roll. This is nothing new, and it is again becoming one of the best weapons for a Pacers team that was offensively inept until February.

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As soon as Hill and West got to Indiana in the Summer of 2011, the pick and roll became a security blanket for the Pacers offense. Frank Vogel would routinely go to it late in games, knowing that it could — at worst — usually free up West for a mid-range jumper or a chance to go to work in isolation around the free-throw line.

After the team’s best win of the season — a victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers not long before the All-Star break — George Hill spoke about his connection with David West.

“It kind of feels like the lockout year when I first got here, when me and D-West ran a lot of pick-and-rolls towards the end of the games,” said Hill. “It feels good. I know I’m confident having him as a pick-and-pop guy, and I have to feed off that because most teams try to get back to him. And that’s when I have to learn to attack and try to create for others — but also be aggressive myself.”

West felt similar after the win.

“We’ve got good chemistry in that regard,” said West. “He knows when to throw it back and when to keep it for himself to keep the defense honest. It worked for us early, was just sort of able to give us a good offensive flow, and carried us through the night.”

West produced like star against Cleveland, putting up 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting while grabbing a season-high 13 rebounds. At least 8 of these points came directly from Hill getting West the ball in his wheelhouse during a pick-and-pop play.

As is obvious in the video above, the return of George Hill running the pick and roll has put David West back in his comfort zone: the top of the key.

The two charts below show where he is taking his shots with and without Hill on the floor.

David West’s FGAs with George Hill on the Floor

Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers /

David West’s FGAs without George Hill on the Floor

Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers /

The cluster around the 17-Foot Assassins favorite spot in the top chart stands in stark contrast to the splatter of shots he was taking without Hill around.

George Hill knows where — and when — to get David West the ball. West earned his nickname by being able to consistently hit those shots from the top of the key and it only helps space the floor when he gets his shot going.

None of this is too surprising. A year ago Indiana was running one of the best pick-and-roll attacks in the NBA with Hill and West.

John Schuhmann covered this for NBA.com’s Hangtime blog and noted that George Hill was the 10th best scorer in the league as a pick and roll ball handler in terms of points per possession (averaging 1.09).

West was Hill’s most frequent pick-and-roll partner, and the power forward’s improved play since his lil’ buddy returned is just one example of how Indiana’s players are more comfortable with George Hill back.

Hill isn’t just acquiescing to his teammate though. He has shown plenty of aggressiveness on offense.

Here are two examples of Hill calling his own number in a pick-and-roll situation with West from the Cleveland game alone.

First he fools Kyrie Irving with a quick-hitter by just blowing by Cleveland’s All-Star rather than using the screen that Irving is preparing for.

Then later in the game, after a possession started to fall apart, he waited for West to come set a screen that freed him just enough to fire up a good look from deep. This is the “if we have nothing else, let’s just run a two-man game” version of the set that used to be a staple of the team’s offense back before Lance Stephenson and Paul George became the default bail-out options.

Overall this year, George Hill’s finishing numbers in pick-and-roll situations have dropped way down. He is averaging just 0.87 points per possession compared to last year’s impressive 1.09.

But considering the adjustment period he needed after missing almost the whole season that is understandable. We’re dealing with a very small sample size and nearly all of this has come while Hill has been on a minutes restriction (which was just lifted). A positive we’ve seen so far as he’s changed his game is he’s also taking slightly more 3-pointers than any point in his career, and for good reason: He’s hit 55% of his 3-pointers in the last 7 games since he returned to his starting roll.

The Pacers team-wide numbers  in the pick and roll are not pretty so far this season, but those numbers are mostly without George Hill playing point guard and being the primary ball-handler.

Chances are that things will improve vastly as Hill and West continue to keep turning their favorite set into one of the Pacers’ best weapons.

In fact, it doesn’t even seem to matter what play Hill as running. Everything is working when he is on the court, and the Pacers are playing at a insanely efficient with him in the game.

In February the Pacers have the third highest offensive rating in the league. However there may be a few giant road blocks in the way as the month comes to a close. In addition to last-night’s clash with the Golden State Warriors, the Pacers have face the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers this week.

If George Hill can keep playing at the level he’s at bring the Pacers with him, then Indiana might gain ground on the 8th seed despite not making any moves at the trade deadline.  Perhaps the return of George Hill and the Pacers returning to their more natural roles will be enough to find a playoff spot.

At the very worst, watching Hill and West run their pet play will be a lot more enjoyable than most of the listless possessions the team ran for the first three months of the season.

Next: Handing Out the Pacers' Midseason Awards

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