On Sunday night against the Atlanta Hawks, Jordan Hill’s energy on the boards in the fourth quarter lifted the Lakers to a a 105-103 victory. While he only had 6 points and 5 rebounds in 13 minutes of play, most of those rebounds came in the final minutes of the game that was eventually secured with two free-throws and a game-winning block by Pau Gasol.
With the Lakers playing the Mavericks on Tuesday night, Hill missed the team’s flight to Dallas today after dealing with a bone bruise in his right knee. However, he will fly commercial tonight to meet with his team via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:
LAL announces Jordan Hill has a bone bruise in his R knee. Hill missed the team’s flight to DAL but will fly commercial tonight to meet them
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 5, 2013
After not playing until the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs, Hill has earned a spot in the Lakers’ 11-man rotation and there were hopes he would play more than his average 14.0 minutes per game. However, it doesn’t seem like head coach Mike D’Antoni will play him more than that since Hill expends so much energy when he’s on the court.
Despite averaging 6.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in limited minutes, D’Antoni considers Hill a spurt player. While Hill has been productive so far, D’Antoni feels the more minutes he plays, the less productive he will be. However, D’Antoni has been very pleased with his efforts and likes the impact Hill has had on games so far this season.
Hill will be available for tomorrow nights game as the Lakers embark on their first extended road trip through Dallas, Houston and New Orleans.
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VIDEO: Did You See What Pau Gasol Had To Say About Wanting Jordan Hill To Get More Minutes?