He was disinterested, slow, and completely ruined the flow of the Knicks offense. I didnt see anything on defense that looked promising either. He took bad shots, gave up on plays, and reminded me ALOT of Balkman with out the hustle. He looked LAZY! Ples he seems like a small 6'10" and the most muscular part of his body is his ugly hair.

I know its just the first game, but Im calling BUST

LOL calling bust after 1 preseason game is a bit much but... There is nothing in his game that tells me he is going to be anything more than a decent roll player... but i have said that from the start. He'd be lucky to have a career like a Kurt Thomas/Haslem type player... real lucky. Not what i was hoping for out of this draft.

at least douglas looks solid. First guard ive seen get over a screen in years here

Agreed. Totally unimpressive. But I'm not calling BUST yet. But... he looks pretty bad.

I like how he clearly got his hands on a lot of balls and was active despite not really knowing what he was doing out there. He also has a nice jumper and very good speed. He attempted to Block shots too. I think he just needs more time but has all the tools already. My sense is that he just has to catchup to the speed of the game. His excellent vert and length allows him to get balls in traffic. Hill will be just fine in time.

He is 3-4 years from being an NBA player (if ever).
Just forget about him and let him work on his game.
We will not see him too much anyways. Junk time is where he goes.

If he looked awful, you were expecting too much. I kinda figured he would stink it up, so I saw it as a bonus that he brought energy and hustle and tried to block some shots. He will be pretty good in a few years.

I have said it many times before, this kid needs to grow into his body and add 10-15 pounds of muscle. He is quick for a 6'10" guy but he gets pushed around. Once his learns the game, improves his jumper (which is already decent for a PF), and adds strength so he can hold his position on the block, then you can properly evaluate him. I think this kid could easily get to a young Kurt Thomas level but with more athleticism. That is probably less than you hope for but I would not call that a bust.

Posted by Paladin55:

Posted by nixluva:

I like how he clearly got his hands on a lot of balls and was active despite not really knowing what he was doing out there. He also has a nice jumper and very good speed. He attempted to Block shots too. I think he just needs more time but has all the tools already. My sense is that he just has to catchup to the speed of the game. His excellent vert and length allows him to get balls in traffic. Hill will be just fine in time.

Ditto...

His midrange J will be automatic in a few years. His inside offensive game needs a lot of polishing up, and he needs to move his feet a bit more on D at times, but some other posters are going a bit to hard on the guy IMO.

My understanding is that he played only 5 years of organized ball before coming to the Knicks and having to play in MDA's quick thinking offense. He played at a college where things were falling apart but still managed to improve each year. In the NBA he will go through the same growth process

He will be an entirely different player by the end of the year as his confidence level builds, and he comes to understand how D'Antoni wants the game played. It contines to amaze me how folks cannot show any patience with the younger Knicks. Players develop at their own speeds. Some have physical ability, like Hill, but don't have the court sense that only comes with experience, and some, like Gallinari, have the court sense but possess a body that is still developing/maturing. In both instances you have unfinished products who need to evolve in some form or another before they hit their "prime."

Some people should lighten up, sit back, and enjoy watching Hill, Douglas, Gallo, and Chandler develop as players.

Totally agree with Nix & Pal. He does look out of sync though, for whatever reason. I had trouble believing that the game is at too fast a pace for him (he's an excellent athlete for a big man) but that just might be the case a little bit. Still, like these guys said, there were things I liked this afternoon -- he faced up on Lopez and canned a 15 footer right in his mug. Water.. Out of the 8 or so shots he took, there were a couple of forced jumpers (that's gonna happen - this is a guy who's trying to impress) but at least half his shots were good shots that came in the flow that just didn't drop (he definitely got hit going up at the rim on that one nice drive and dish from either Nate or Douglas that wasn't called). He went after loose balls hard like he always does. He rebounded pretty well and contested a few shots. He reached over a Nets player who had position on the foul line to grab a rebound and get the Knicks a new possession. He got to the line himself a few times and drained 2 toward the end of the game - all net.... He might be more of a work in progress than I first thought but in no way do I think this guy's a bust. Not after what I saw him do last year at 'Zona... He needs to get more comfortable and it might take a little longer than I first thought, but this guy has everything in his favor to be a successful PF in the NBA. And it'll happen eventually. No doubt in my mind. Even Pat Ewing had trouble adjusting in the beginning. Wait 'til playing time opens up & they really start depending on him to contribute more and he gets more hungry & gains confidence. Once this guy tastes a little success he'll want more and more until suddenly one day he arrives. He'll be fine... TD played himself into a role on this team already, partly because he's earned it with a good camp & partly because we desperately need a backup PG. TD's taken the baton from D'Antoni and he's running with it. It's a little bit of a different story with Hill -- nobody's given the baton to Jordan yet. Right now Hill probably feels a little lost as he really doesn't have a role yet. And it shows a little. Also, not for anything, but I don't see any emphasis on getting Jordan the ball in good spots on the block yet. That'll change - eventually they'll figure out his strengths and where he needs to be on the court to be the most successful (like any skilled big man, he needs it as close to the basket as possible - it's gravy that he can even knock down 15-18 footers as well as he can but he can't be a guy just roaming around on the perimeter which is basically what he did a lot of today). And he'll have to do his part eventually as far as getting to those spots, pinning and sealing his man, demanding the ball and getting himself in the best position to execute. Right now, it's just not there on either side yet but it'll get there. As his confidence grows and he begins to taste a little bit of success, then a little more, he'll become more of a focal point. Every young player plays better and has more of an impact once they see that they're contributing to the cause. This guy has a lot of skill. Nothing would shock me more than if he didn't become a successful player in the NBA. He's got all the tools.

[Edited by - finestrg on 10-05-2009 12:11 PM]

Posted by BRIGGS:

He doesn't look like a guy who would be playing on the 73 Knicks yet but lets give him more than one pre season game????

He's no John Gianelli, I can tell you that...

Posted by BRIGGS:

He doesn't look like a guy who would be playing on the 73 Knicks yet but lets give him more than one pre season game????

I think step 1 with Hill is learning where to go on the court because he had absolutely no clue out there--he was like a chicken with his head cut off. Lets see at pre-season game 7. This might be the first Knick who really might benefit from 10 games in the D league instead of the bench. It's still a fast flow game and he can gain confidence and a better understanding of playing the game at a faster pace against higher skilled guys than he played in school. He needs developmental time. I hope the Knicks are not to proud to understand this. Id rather see a guy play and gain confidence in the D league for a 10-15 game stint that sit on the bench and look lost on the court. The D league should help him in many areas.

Do you recall 7th pick send to D-league?
It's same for organization as admit that their scouts are a bunch of idiots... which they surely are.

Look for Jordan Hill in street clothes at the end of the bench for a while. And i'm not basing this off the one game. I've been saying all along that Douglas would play more than Hill this year.