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Solomon Hill Commits 5 of the Worst Turnovers Anybody Has Ever Seen in First Quarter

ByJared Wade|
Feb 8, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Indiana Pacers guard forward Solomon Hill (44) signals to his team during a free throw in the first half of the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 8, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Indiana Pacers guard forward Solomon Hill (44) signals to his team during a free throw in the first half of the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

Solomon Hill probably played the worst game of his professional career last night, committing 5 turnovers in the first quarter before asking — pleading, begging — his coach to take him out of the game.

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I honestly can’t recall seeing an NBA player ask out of a game for non-injury-related reasons, but I can’t say I fault the guy.

Solomon Hill was destroying his team’s chance to win and generally embarrassing his whole family with his play. There clearly wasn’t anything else he could do to help his team other than trying to eject like Goose in Top Gun and (spoiler alert) hoping the fighter jet windshield would put a quick end to his misery.

Here are all of the first-quarter turnovers — each one more egregious and incredible than the next — along with some real-time, flabbergasted reactions by me and others to what he was doing on the basketball court.

Solomon Hill Turnover #1

Solomon Hill Turnover #2

Solomon Hill Turnover #3

Solomon Hill Turnover #4

Solomon Hill Turnover #5

Solomon Hill Asks Out of the Game

Solomon Hill’s Epilogue

Despite pleading to go sit on the bench and think about his what he had done, Pacers coach Frank Vogel went Joffrey and didn’t grant mercy. Hill was forced to re-take the court after a timeout, which I imagine played out something like this for him.

By the time Hill did come out a few minutes later, the Pacers were down 25-15, and though the team would make a nice little comeback attempt in the third quarter, this early hole was too much to overcome.

Solomon, who usually isn’t such a train wreck but more just a limited player who struggles to make 3s or layups, also couldn’t contain James Harden whatsoever. Normally, Solo plays pretty good on-ball D and nobody can stop Harden, but you could tell that his early foibles had so damaged his confidence that he just couldn’t get back into his element.

He was so out of sorts that he was letting stuff like his happen.

George Hill would take over primarily on Harden later in the game, and while the smaller, elder Hill did a better job, it was too late.

Harden was in full-on “I’m God On a Court Mode,” scoring 44 points by the time it was all done.

He put the nail in Indiana’s coffin while doing stuff like this.

It’s a shame.

Both George Hill and Roy Hibbert put up nice games. And C.J. Watson did work (23 points) off the bench. But a team like the Pacers simply cannot fall this far down against a team as good as the Rockets. Harden and Houston smelled blood early on and they never relented.

The result was the Indiana Pacers losing their sixth straight game and starting to see their playoff hopes look farther away than they appear in the rearview mirror.

There was one good moment in this real-life nightmare for Solomon Hill, however. He PUT IT ON Josh Smith later in the night. It was one of the better dunks of his career.

He even got a SportsCenter dunk of the night for the accomplishment. So he’s got that going for him.

Next: David West: Harden Is Hardest to Officiate Since Shaq

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