Without Hill, Pistons Would Face Big Valley
The most valuable player in the NBA bounced up off the Forum floor, his body tattoo-free and sweatless, his eyes dancing in the direction of Eddie Jones.
“Huh?” Grant Hill asked. “What?”
Hill had already pushed Jones’ mute button. He wound up with the ball and Detroit’s only hopes in his hands, 2.2 seconds left in regulation, three points behind. But that was time enough for a quick shoulder shake to his right that lost Jones, and an ice-cold heave from 35 feet that rocketed against the backboard and swished.
Having beaten the buzzer, Detroit used two overtimes to beat the Lakers, 100-97 Saturday night, and sail another giddy mile from shore. When someone asked coach Doug Collins how the second-best team in the NBA was doing, Collins could only laugh - but the standings testify that the Pistons are 28-9, and nobody but Chicago is better.
“Grant Hill,” Collins said, “is not Michael Jordan. He is not going to put up 50 one night and 55 the next. He doesn’t have that dynamic scorer’s mentality. But you’d be very hard-pressed to find anybody else in this league who does more for his team. When I think of trying to play without him, I get scared.”
Hill justified the Lakers’ fears with 34 points, 15 rebounds and 14 assists. He did it on stealth, hang time, and patience. He leads Detroit in scoring, rebounds, assists, steals and free-throw attempts, and even though he shoots few threes (19, coming into Saturday), he is the person you want shooting the biggest ones.
He gets the ball and the other Pistons scatter. He oozes inside, dribbles, dribbles, dribbles, gets the double-team, goes up and - the rest is mystery, especially to Hill. But the other Pistons know that if they rush the rim, Hill will find them. Not that he can’t handle things himself. Three times Saturday, Hill scored over, under or through Shaquille O’Neal.
With 6:41 left, Kobe Bryant put the final ruffle on his 21-point solo by slamming home a pass from Nick Van Exel. The Lakers led, 66-58. In the next seven Detroit possessions, Hill drilled two 18-footers, fed Otis Thorpe for two hoops, watched Mills assist Thorpe, and score a finger-roll past O’Neal. Two possessions after that, he hit two foul shots, and then he got a chance to tie it when Robert Horry threw away an in-bounds pass.
Hill tried to ascend the Forum and plant the Pistons flag at the end of the first overtime, but O’Neal blocked his 15-footer.
In the second overtime, Hill kept finding ways to coax music out of the old pick-and-roll, scoring four consecutive points, then drawing a covey of Lakers and firing an assist to the lonely Grant Long. Van Exel missed a two-pointer at the end when a three was necessary, and the Lakers now dwell on their first losing streak since November.
“I probably haven’t played a game in the pros better than that,” Hill said. “I wanted to play well tonight because I hadn’t played well against the Lakers and Magic Johnson was here tonight. I was such a fan of his I wore No. 32 in high school. But I’m not filling his shoes. I’m just a third-year guy who hasn’t won anything yet.”
There are some Michael Jordan loyalists out there who think the Cologne Ranger should win the MVP every season. And no trophy should be embossed until season’s end, obviously.
But fill in the blanks this way: Would (your team here) have the season they’re having if (your player here) wasn’t playing his best? Chicago would still be among the elite if Jordan were just messing around. Detroit would be Clippersque - or worse - if Hill were.
The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Mark Whicker Orange County Register