After news broke this morning that Lakers reserve big man Jordan Hill was being charged with felony assault following his double-double in Game 1 of the team’s series with the Denver Nuggets, the scramble for more information on the situation has been intense.
Hill took to Twitter to simply exclaim his surprise at the charges, but didn’t say anything further.
Now it’s being reported by Mike Bresnahan of the L.A. Times that Hill will be required to be in a Houston courtroom at 9:30 a.m. CT on Tuesday morning.
I’ve been told that Jordan Hill *must* appear in person Tuesday at a Houston court at 9:30 a.m. CT. The Lakers play host to DEN at 7:30 p.m.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) April 30, 2012
This couldn’t be worse timing for the Lakers, who host the Nuggets in Game 2 on Tuesday night back in Los Angeles. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 PST at the Staples Center.
A direct flight from Los Angeles to Houston is approximately four hours. Hill’s hearing reportedly starts at 7:30 a.m. PST (9:30 CT), leaving him 12 hours to finish his court date and get back to L.A. for Game 2.
Head coach Mike Brown, or anybody else from the organization, has commented on Hill’s playing status for Tuesday night.
Current Laker guard Kobe Bryant had a similar scenario back in 2004, as he had to fly to Colorado for hearings on multiple occasions stemming from a sexual assault charge. Bryant regularly made it back to L.A. in time for the team’s games, but it was certainly a distraction for the team as Kobe hit the game winner to finish a very busy day:
httpvhd://youtu.be/tX7C4RWhdgo
*Update from Houston’s ABC News Affiliate*
According to the report, Jordan Hill and his girlfriend at the time, Darlene Luna, got into an argument where Luna proceeded to throw Hill’s two cell phones to the ground.
Court documents state Hill demanded that she pick up his phones, and when she turned away from him, Hill grabbed her from behind and put her in a chokehold in which she couldn’t breathe.
The Police have said they have received photos of the injuries that are consistent with the story being told by Luna.
Kevin Ding of the OC Register also tweeted a Statement released by Hill:
Jordan Hill statement: “I’d like to apologize to the Lakers organization and to all of their fans for the untimeliness of these accusations”
— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) April 30, 2012
More Hill: “I promise to keep my focus and attention on the playoffs during this time and to helping my team win another championship.”
— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) April 30, 2012