As he sat recently by his locker stall, Lakers forward Jordan Hill exuded a sense of peace. In his mind, all the hurdles that stood in his way from last season have since moved.

Though he rarely said so publicly, Hill clashed philosophically with Mike D’Antoni’s small-ball system and believed that contributed last season to an inconsistent role.

“If Mike was here, I wouldn’t be back,” Hill said. “That’s the way it was. No disrespect to Mike, but apparently I didn’t fit his system. Why would I come back?”

There are rebuttals.

Hill still posted career-highs in points (9.7), shooting percentage (54.9 percent), rebounds (7.4) and minutes played (20.8). A discrepancy emerged between the 40 games Hill averaged at least 20 minutes per game and the 20 games in which he averaged 15 minutes or fewer.

Yet, the Lakers coaching staff often attributed that imbalance to Hill’s fluctuating fatigue.

So the 27-year-old Hill said he has stopped drinking alcohol, admitting it hurt his efforts on becoming the Lakers’ renewable energy source. Hill said the lifestyle change helped him drop from 253 pounds to 240.

“It was that time to step out of my old ways and to grow up,” Hill said. “Now I feel really, really good. I can run and down more often. My wind is back. My body feels good. I feel like I could go for days.”

It sure looks like it.

Entering the Lakers’ exhibition Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns at Honda Center, Hill has averaged 8.6 points on 54.5 percent shooting and 8.4 rebounds in 22 minutes per contest through five preseason games as the team’s starting center. Those numbers appear similar to last season’s output, but he will likely receive more playing time once the games count.

As an analyst last year for Time Warner Cable SportsNet, Lakers coach Byron Scott admired Hill’s knack for hustle plays and rebounding. Scott believes Hill will elevate his game even more, as his more deliberate offense centered on post play will tap into Hill’s strengths.

“He is one guy who can play this game without having to have someone run plays for him and can still average a double-double,” Scott said. “That’s pretty rare in this league. I think he’s going to have career numbers again this year.”

But plenty of work and uncertainty await Hill.

He followed through on Scott’s suggestion to work this summer on improving his mid-range jumper. Yet, Hill has only shot 4-of-11 on mid-range jumpers through five exhibition games. The Lakers have leaned partly on Hill’s hustle and rebounding to revamp their defense that finished at the bottom of the league last season in nearly every category. Yet, the Lakers have conceded at least 100 points to opponents in three of their five exhibition games.

After attracting interest from Houston, Miami, San Antonio and Orlando in the off-season, Hill expressed gratitude over the Lakers granting him a relatively expensive two-year, $18 million deal.

“I’m glad to be wanted,” Hill said. Yet, the Lakers have an option on his second season.

That puts the onus on Hill to ensure he no longer relives last season’s frustration.

“Last year, I was thinking too much about playing,” Hill said. “If I messed up, I wondered if I would see the floor again. Right now, Byron is relying on me and I’m one of his guys. That really builds more confidence in me to come out this year and play my game.”