The Phoenix Suns defeated the Portland Trail Blazers last night and Grant Hill was arguably the best player on the court. But, if you missed the game and looked at his stats, that wouldn’t be so clear. Hill had 3 points, shooting 1-4 from the field, yet the team was +26 when he was on the court (the highest point differential out of all of his teammates). Hill had such a huge impact on the game because of his unselfish play, defensive intensity, and ability to make smart decisions. Right before halftime, the Blazers were trying to cut the Suns lead to a manageable ten point game. Jerryd Bayless drove to the basket and went up for a dunk that would have made the crowd erupt, but Hill was there to get a clean block (see YouTube video). Although this block did show up in the box score, the timing of the block is what mattered - Hill quieted the crowd and prevented the Blazers from gaining momentum going into the half. In addition, in the final few minutes of the game when the Suns were trying to pull away, Hill set a screen for Steve Nash that led to an easy dunk for Amar’e Stoudemire. For this play, Nash was credited with an assist, Stoudemire with 2 points, and Hill with nothing, yet the play originated with Hill’s screen. Because there is currently no measurement for the timing of a play or for a screen that leads to an easy bucket, the box score can be misleading when assessing the value of a player. After the game, Hill was interviewed by the always creatively dressed Craig Sager and said: “I’m done worrying about my legacy.” Hill is committed to his team and is not concerned with his personal stats – his unselfish play is what helped seal the victory for the Suns and move Hill into the second round of playoffs for the first time in his career.
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The Suns lost the first game for two related reasons: (1) Jason Richardson spent all his energy guarding Andre Miller and (2) Andre Miller schooled Jason Richardson (flashback to his Utah days anyone?). Andre Miller scored 31 points on 10-17 shooting (and 10-10 from the free throw line), Jason Richardson scored 14 points on 4-12 shooting. The Suns clearly needed to make a change--Richardson needed to score more points (the Suns are unstoppable when he scores more than 20) and Andre Miller needed to be shut down.
ReplyDeleteENTER GRANT HILL who got the assignment to guard Andre Miller and thereby free up Richardson to devote all his energy on offense.
***Game 2 stats***
Andre Miller: 12 points on 4-11 shooting
Jason Richardson: 29 points on 11-16 shooting
Fluke, you say? Well the Suns obviously did not change a thing for Game 3. Here are the results
***Game 3 stats***
Andre Miller: 11 points on 4-11 shooting
Jason Richardson: 42 points on 13-19 shooting
Oh, and by the way, Grant Hill scored 28 points in the two games combined, shooting an incredible 14-16 from the field!!!!
The formula for the Game 2 ad Game 3 was so successful that the Portland had bring Brandon Roy from the operating room and into Game 4. This did change the complexion of the series a bit. But not enough. Not with Grant Hill on the floor playing defense on Roy and Miller.
Good post. I think a great quality about Grant Hill, evident in this game but also the entire last couple seasons, is how his game has evolved from stats-driven to "intangibles" player. He was always a great team player and as he's gotten older, and suffered numerous injuries during the prime of his career, he's had to adapt his game. It's evolved.
ReplyDeleteJ.A. Adande had a great piece on his coming of age that I think fits in well with this idea of why he's developed into this type of player: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2010/columns/story?columnist=adande_ja&page=granthill-100428