Great post
rusty
Good article here - and yes George Hill really helped. And HE IS a playoff veteran unlike the other 3. Different game.
George Hill makes triumphant return to lineup, steadies Cavaliers' offense in Game 7 win
By Chris Fedor,
cleveland.comcfedor@cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- After yet another sluggish start to the third quarter, a frustrating and common trend for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, coach Tyronn Lue called on injured point guard George Hill to make his first appearance since Game 3.
It was Lue's best move of the back-and-forth seven-game series. Hill completely changed the game.
Showing no signs of an achy back that has required constant treatment and a few injections, Hill steadied a teetering offense that watched an 11-point halftime lead quickly turn into a one-point edge. Not only did Hill give the Cavaliers another needed ball handler with an abundance of playoff experience, but he also provided James with the help he needed -- someone else to carry the offensive burden while James gasped for air.
Kyle Korver was off. JR Smith was misfiring all afternoon. Tristan Thompson was unlikely to keep up his scoring from the first half. Kevin Love was struggling once again.
With a true point guard, the Cavaliers finally had a go-to offensive set to counter the Pacers' smart halftime adjustments that had a big role in how out of sync the Cavs looked coming out of the locker room. The Cavs repeatedly called for the lethal 1-3 pick and roll that was a staple of their Finals runs the last three years.
No, Hill isn't Kyrie Irving. But he's a deft pick-and-roll ball handler who allowed James a few possessions where he didn't have to initiate everything on his own.
Instead, James was used as the screener for Hill. When the Pacers switched that action, James got the mismatch he had been seeking all afternoon. He no longer had to work so hard against sturdy defenders Bojan Bogdanovic and Thaddeus Young. On those possessions with Hill, James was able to exploit point guard Darren Collison, either shooting over him or bulldozing his way to the basket.
When the Pacers chose to play defense straight up, trying to fight through the screen to keep Bogdanovic matched up against James, Hill was able to get a step on the defender and attack the rim for a basket.
If the Pacers collapsed the defense, it led to kick-outs.
That specific set led to eight straight points for the Cavaliers at a time they desperately needed them, holding off another customary Pacers surge.
Hill scored just two points in that third quarter, but played an emormous role in James' third-quarter outburst. James scored 12 points in the third -- all of which came after Hill entered the game. That wasn't a coincidence.
Then, when James had to leave the court for the first time all night because of cramps and the Cavs were clinging to a one-point lead -- perhaps the most uneasy stretch of the entire first-round series --
Hill led the charge once again.
He made three free throws to open the fourth-quarter scoring. A few possessions later, he attacked off the dribble and found an open Kevin Love for a midrange jumper that pushed the lead to eight points with James on the bench.
That's right: The Cavs went plus-seven in those minutes with James out of the game, perhaps the most important development heading into the Eastern Conference semifinals against Toronto.
For Love, it was the kind of basket he simply didn't make consistently in the previous six games of the series, let alone the first three quarters of Game 7. But the pressure Hill put on the defense created enough space for Love to step into the shot comfortably.
In the deciding fourth quarter, Hill scored nine of his 11 points. He also dished out three assists and grabbed six rebounds while playing the final 19 minutes.
Heading into these playoffs, with so many new faces, the Cavs had numerous questions to answer about role delineation and trust. They learned plenty about Hill on Sunday afternoon, as he gutted through painful back spasms.
As brilliant as James is and was again in this closeout game, getting back to the Finals will require more than just a one-man show. He knows it. The organization does too. Sunday, Hill might've given the Cavs an answer to their most important question: Who is the second-most important player?
It's the guy with "Indiana George" tattooed on his forearm, who recovered just in time to eliminate his hometown team and help Cavs advance to Round Two.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain
