Lakers Forward Jordan Hill Medically Cleared to Play in Game 2 vs. Spurs
Los Angeles Lakers forward Jordan Hill has been cleared to play in Wednesday's Game 2 of the team's Western Conference first-round playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs, according to Lakers.com's Mike Trudell (via Twitter):
Hill had been out of the L.A. lineup since January after undergoing hip surgery. He played in 29 regular-season games for the Lakers, averaging 6.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game on 50 percent shooting from the field.
It remains to be seen whether head coach Mike D'Antoni will play him, but at 6'10", the 25-year-old center will provide D'Antoni with another option in the frontcourt in Game 2. The Lakers outscored the Spurs 40-32 in the paint in Game 1, but finished just plus-one on the boards and turned the ball over 18 times in the 91-79 defeat.
Hill should also help the Lakers' second unit make more of a difference for the rest of the series. L.A.'s bench scored just 10 points in the Game 1 loss, while San Antonio's bench, led by Manu Ginobili, accounted for 40 of the Spurs' 91 points.
Hill, who averaged just 4.8 points per game in 12 playoff appearances for the Lakers last season, isn't going to score a ton of points off the bench, but as long as he's active, rebounding, defending and drawing fouls, he adds a crucial piece for D'Antoni, who was forced to play Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard for 43 and 41 minutes respectively in Game 1.
The seventh-seeded Lakers will take on the second-seeded Spurs at 9:30 p.m. ET on TNT Wednesday night in Game 2. Games 3 and 4 in L.A. are scheduled for Friday and Sunday.
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