Our own Kevin Sanchez wrote about Jordan Hill being poised for a breakout year. While he showed signs of one last year, this would be the season where Jordan Hill can prove it. He’ll get the playing time at a position most natural to him.
While he’s undersized as a traditional center, he has center-like skills. He is the best Laker at cleaning up points in the paint. He does a solid job of rebounding, done with his length and energy on the floor. Offensively, he shows some rudimentary footwork and a basic jumphook. His recently added mid-range jumper should draw out defenses and expand his game to another dimension.
Defensively, there may be some issues. Jordan Hill is a bouncy, high-energy player. Players of that type tend to draw a lot of loose-ball fouls. This could put him in foul trouble situations when the Lakers need him on the floor. He is one of the Lakers’ best bigmen. He has shown solid ability to protect the rim, as indicated by his 1.5 blocks per game per-36 minutes of play from last season. He averaged 2.4 fouls per game in just 20.8 minutes of play. For every 36 minutes of play, he averages 4.1. That simply won’t cut it.
Jordan Hill needs to set the tone for the starters in terms of energy and motor. Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant may not be as bouncy as they were in previous years, and this could limit the starters’ ability to get out in transition. As long as Jordan Hill stays out of foul trouble, he’ll be set up for consistent minutes ahead. We just want him to stay out there on the floor, and bring that mid-range jumpshot with him too.