Pacers urge George Hill to be more assertive

Nate Taylor | IndyStar

Be aggressive. Do not be afraid to shoot the ball. Stop thinking so darn much.

For the past few weeks, coach Frank Vogel and the Indiana Pacers have encouraged George Hill, criticized him and demanded that he improve. From Vogel to several teammates, they want Hill to be bold, confident and aggressive, which they didn't see for much of the past month.

Hill’s season has been defined by wild swings – from stellar play for a stretch of games to playing so passively at times it is hard to notice him on the court.

Vogel hopes a one-on-one film session with Hill before Monday’s game against San Antonio will be the turning point in Hill being more consistent. Despite the Pacers losing the past two games, Hill’s play has been a positive. He scored a combined 35 points and shot 48 percent from the field (13-of-27), his best two-game shooting performance this season when attempting 10 or more shots.

“I just showed him that he has a tendency to stop himself and just play safe,” Vogel said of the film session. “He’s a low turnover guy and that’s something we like, but we just feel like he can be more aggressive. There’s no time to not be aggressive.”

When Hill watched himself in the games before Monday, he noticed he didn't shoot the ball when the defender went under the screen on pick-and-roll plays. Instead of driving hard to the basket in transition, he slowed the pace to run a play in the halfcourt. He also passed up open 3-pointers in hopes of increasing the Pacers’ ball movement.

Against Sacramento on Wednesday, Hill continued to adjust his approach and scored his 20 points in a variety of ways. It was his first 20-point game since a Nov. 9 win over Orlando.

“It’s just my nature to make sure everyone is happy,” Hill said about his pass-first personality. “Watching film with coach the last couple days has been about picking my spots and telling me don’t worry because, yes, you’re going to get guys involved, but you’ve also got to be aggressive yourself.”

Aggressiveness has always been the biggest word of emphasis and the most important trait the Pacers have used to evaluate Hill. Vogel knows Hill is capable of being one of his best players when Hill is direct, motivated and determined. In 43 games last season, he averaged 16.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, all career highs.

Yet when Hill is hesitant, he can go from a dependable starter to an afterthought. Before Wednesday’s game, his 3.3 assists per game ranked 37th in the league. His passive play in December has netted just 17 free throw attempts in 12 games – including six games where he didn't shoot a single free throw.

Paul George said he felt Hill was deferring too much to the other perimeter players — such as himself, Monta Ellis and C.J. Miles — in the Pacers’ spread lineup.

“That’s all on George (Hill),” George said Tuesday. “I tell George all the time he’s as elite as it comes with his length, his speed and the way he shoots the ball. Honestly, he should be one of our top scorers. I look at it as either he’s going to be just as good as the matchup he’s at or he’s going to be better than his matchup. He’s just got to be aware of that.”

One simple way to explain Hill’s poor play is to attribute it to an upper respiratory infection he sustained in mid-November. The infection forced him to miss three games and his weakened condition made it difficult for him to find a rhythm.

Before the illness, Hill was averaging 14 points per game and shooting 45 percent from behind the arc. Entering Wednesday’s game, he was averaging 10.4 points and shooting just 34 percent on 3-pointers after the infection.

“Early in the season I was playing well, I thought, and then I got the upper respiratory infection and I’m still kind of dealing with it,” Hill said. “I just wasn’t the same. It kind of set me a couple steps back. When that happened, you felt like you didn’t have the energy to make the plays.”

Miles was encouraged by Hill’s performance in the past two games. He said the Pacers need Hill to be healthy and a willing scorer for the spread offense to be potent. Miles said he, Hill and Ellis have the responsibility to score enough points to prevent opposing teams from double-teaming George.

“He creates a weapon for us,” Miles said of Hill. “He creates space for us because he can do so many things with the basketball – drive it, shoot it, make plays. We already know he’s a great defensive point guard, so he’s just getting back to being confident in everything that he’s worked on.”

No longer can Hill be lost in the Pacers offense. That was the message Vogel gave him last week. After regaining his strength and stamina, Hill said he believes he has rediscovered his aggressiveness – the one trait the Pacers demand most from him.

Paul George has second-highest Eastern Conference All-Star vote total in first returns

Pacers forward Paul George is currently second to LeBron James in Eastern Conference All-Star voting according to a release by the NBA Friday. In the first returns, George has 283,785 votes; James has 357,937. The overall NBA leader is the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, who has garnered 719,235 votes. Golden State's Stephen Curry (510,202) is second.

George currently ranks fifth in the NBA in scoring (25.0 points per game) and second only to Curry in 3-point field goals made (84).

Call Star reporter Nate Taylor at (317) 444-6484. Follow him on Twitter: @ByNateTaylor.

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