FanPost

Mike D'Antoni wants Jordan Hill to play as a 'Stretch 4'

Ohhh Coach Mike.

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"Jordan - you are not a Center."


"He talked about what I need to work on for this coming summer," Hill said. "My jump shot -- he definitely wanted me to work on my outside jumper."

"That’s mostly what I’ve been focusing on this whole summer, not so much the post work because I know I can go down to the block and easily get an offensive rebound and putback. We got Pau Gasol that can focus on the paint and we got Chris Kaman that can focus on the block. So I just want to be a stretch 4. Just try to spread the floor a little bit, just show a little range. I’ve been working on it the whole summer, trying to focus on that, on my 3-ball. It got a lot better. I’m just ready to put it all together and showcase it."

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/229366/DAntoni-Assigns-Jordan-Hill-To-Become-Stretch-Four

Jordan Hill began his rookie campaign playing for Coach Mike in New York. As a Knick, Hill appeared to be a bust- he was an inefficient shooter and a bad rebounder. After being traded to Houston and playing under coach Rick Adelman, Hill showed promise. Hill made over half of his shots in the paint (above league average) and improved his rebounding rates, especially on the offensive glass.

Traded again to the Lakers at the end of the 2011-2012 season, Jordan Hill once again showed great promise. In a handful of minutes at the end of the season, Hill was a production per 36 monster. Once again, there wasn't an improvement in his outside shooting but a reduction in the volume of his outside shots. He posted nearly a 20% ORB %. Last year, in a season limited by injuries, Hill finally seemed to combine his abilities and Coach Mike's proclivities: nearly a third of his FGAs came from mid-range, yet his ORB% remained near 20%.

If Jordan Hill can continue to hustle up offensive boards while improve his efficiency from mid-range, then Coach Mike will look like a genius. (well he'll still look like Mr. Pringles if yer going to be literal about it)

One thing is likely-- Pau and Kaman won't be gobbling up those offensive rebounds. And so long as Nick Young and Wes Johnson have anything to say about it, there will be long offensive rebounds available.

In summary - we miss you Coach Mike. If nothing else, yer bball strategy is interesting.