For over a decade, the San Antonio Spurs have been one of the NBA’s strongest dynasties, claiming championships in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. As Rob Mahoney pointed out in this column over at Hardwood Paroxysm, the Spurs’ identity has changed dramatically over that period, though; they went from a team built around Tim Duncan and David Robinson to one featuring Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to the current version that’s seen expanded roles for Ginobili and other players. One of those players is George Hill, who exploded for 30 points while going 11 for 15 from the field, six for six from the line and two for two from deep in San Antonio’s 119-102 win over Houston last night. He also added seven assists, five steals, two rebounds and a block and was prominently featured in today‘s The Basketball Jones for his efforts.

This wasn’t just a one-off performance from Hill, though. He’s really improved this year, going from 5.7 points, 1.8 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game in his rookie season last year to 12.7, 2.9 and 2.7 respectively this season. A large part of that’s thanks to his increased minutes (29.48 this year versus 16.30 last year) and the way he’s had to step up thanks to Parker’s injury, but he’s become a more efficient player as well. He’s shooting 47.7 per cent from the field this season (a 7.4 per cent improvement over last year) and 40.2 per cent from deep (a 7.3 boost). When Parker started missing games on Jan. 29, Hill got even better thanks to his larger role, scoring at least 10 points in all but four of the 30 games he’s played since that date. However, you probably wouldn’t pick him out as an NBA player if you saw him on the street; Hill stands 6’2” and is only 190 pounds, a frame not that different from some of us reasonably unathletic bloggers. Continue reading →