In the storied recent history of this blog, we have promised to keep our honest eyes on Hilton and to tell you whether he’s progressing as expected or busting like so many other nobodies. I start by pointing out how the man packed on the pounds in the offseason. His dedication to improving involved more than just proving he can make shots or grab boards, but also has to do with what happens off the court and in the weight room. (Cf. Tayshaun Prince.) It has to do with how dedicated he was to improvement en whole. Gold star number one.
So what differs from his much maligned last season? The main difference this year has been his assertiveness. He seems to have Coach Scott’s tacit approval at the 5 and doesn’t seem as worried about being yanked in favor of an ever-rotating selection of forwards/centers. This is a good thing. Hilton has responded positively, even if it is not always obvious from the stat sheet.
Hey, we give guys like Posey credit for making those “intangible” plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet, so why not Hilton? How many tip-outs does Tyson get that don’t show up as rebounds, but everyone in the Arena knows are plays he made? Same with Hilton. He’s been aggressive this year. He’s gotten boards some games, blocks in others. He’s hustled to make second effort plays, and made some nice moves in the post. He runs well, and every now and then he can actually play defense without committing the stupid fouls that have plagued him thus far in his career.
Bottom line: I like what I see. He’s not yet TC. He’s not Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, or even Andris Biedrins. But how many back-up fives are better than him? Seriously? Not many. Name them. I dare you. And can you honestly say that in the next year or so he maybe doesn’t evolve into a starter as TC ages? I see it. So should you.
Agreed. I see much better performance on the defensive end. He still has one or so possessions a game where he loses his man, but that is down from last year. His offense has improved as well. He sets some REALLY solid picks when he is in there with CP3. He seems to make as many jumpers as Sean Marks. He has improved his ability to finish at the rim. He makes his free throws. I would set two objectives for Hilton for this year: keep feet moving on defense to avoid fouling, and learn to catch the ball and control it. These are the things that separate Tyson from Hilton right now.
We both commented that it was too bad Hilton didn’t have any points in the last game. He was being solid, he just hadn’t gotten a shot. Really they ought to have gone to him down low instead of Marks.
Back-up c better’n hilton? You know, i just searched a bit, and it’s hard to say a thing like that, because many teams don’t have a true back-up center..i’d say the pacer’s foster, clippers’ camby (or kaman, whoever they will seat), bucks’ elson isn’t too bad, wolves’ love is a pretty good back-up, greg oden/joel pryzbilla, spencer hawes, nick collison/joe smith, paul millsap and hey what about chris andersen? Maybe they’re not all pure C (but i believe armstrong would be better at the 4 than the 5), but they’re pretty good back-ups, and almost all of them better’n hilton. But apart from a few, they’re all older’n armstrong who can develop in a nice back-up C, since he’s really been improving this season
I was going to go and list a few, but I realize that really isn’t the point, heh.
Unfortunately, while HiltonWatch is improving and better than last year, it still leaves with some issues at the post. We don’t really have a post game (and most ‘chip teams do have at least the option), and Ceiling Fan gets into foul trouble when he’s aggressive. Yes, CFRM is our frontline, and yes, HiltonWatch is second/third, but when CFRM goes down early, we need more than ’sufficient’ from HiltonWatch.
High expectations? Yeah. But realize it’s because the potential is there.
Good post. Hopefully HiltonWatch’ll read it as more motivation.
Not to bring the negativity here… but you did dare me!
Stastically, Josh Boone, Ben Wallace, Joakim Noah, Dan Gadzuric, Jeff Foster, Rasho Nesterovic, Tony Battie, Zaza Pachulia, Nazr Mohammed, Ryan Hollins, Javale McGee, Greg Oden, Channing Frye, Chris Wilcox, Johan Petro, Robin Lopez, Spencer Hawes, Mikki Moore, Paul Davis (!!!), and Darko have been significantly better than Hilton since he’s been in the league. And those are just guys listed as Centers.
(Watch me be totally proven wrong as Hilt eats Boston alive tonight… )
I would totally prefer Hilton over Boone, Wallace (b/c of age), Noah, Gadzuric, Battie, Mohammed, Hollins, Wilcox, Petro, Moore, Davis, or Darko, numbers be damned.
Maybe Foster, Nesterovic, Frye, Lopez (so early), Hawes (ditto), but none is really great, either. The latter two could still develop.
I’d definitely rather have Pachulia, McGee, or Oden, but the latter two are pegged as starters, so I’m not sure I’d count them, but if not Oden, Pryzbilla is pretty damn good. As Kamo pointed out, obviously Kaman/Camby is better. Honestly, tough call with Birdman too, but obviously there are other issues with him.
Interestingly list, but I’ll beg to differ. Hilton’s showing heart. That’s step one. Once that heart leads to success, there will be more confidence. That’s step two. After that, it’s all downhill. Fingers crossed.
How can some of those guys be better than Hilton this year? I’ve never even heard of them. I don’t even know what team they play for.
Wait, you’re seriously going to tell me there are fans of this league who don’t know who Hilton Armstrong is?
No. No. I just won’t believe it.
BTW i checked andersen’s, he’s averaging 5.2 rebounds, a curious .333% from the arc and a monster 2.4, 2.4!! blocks in 17 minutes..that’s way crazy..what if we wouldn’t have let him go away? We’d be perfect with our back-up bigs and we wouldn’t have signed a useless marks (even more expensive than andersen if i’m not mistaking)…