Welcome back to Swishes with Sampson, where I glance around the NBA and pick out five things I particularly enjoyed (or didn’t enjoy) over the past week.

I’m a man who plays by my own set of rules (don’t tell my wife I said that), so my selections have no bounds and can include anything from an interesting set I saw the New York Knicks run to start the game on Wednesday, November 29th at 7:41 p.m. ET. to a team’s stellar play throughout the last week.

I know you’ll find it as enjoyable as I do. So, without further ado, let’s dive in.

1. George Hill’s Teammates Hate Him

Well, that may be a little strong. But they certainly aren’t looking to pass him the ball.

Hill’s struggles and frustration have been no secret throughout this NBA season, with the embattled point guard recently tweeting 26 pouting face emojis (yes, I counted them) after the Sacramento Kings’ 109-104 loss at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks.

😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡

— INDIANA GEORGE HILL (@George_Hill3) December 3, 2017

The nine-year veteran only registered 18 minutes while going 1-of-2 from the field and racking up 6 points. Or, in other words: the epitome of his season.

On one hand, he’s knocking down a career-high 44.9 percent of his outside looks this season. On the other, he’s only taking 3.3 shots per 36 minutes—his lowest mark since his second year.

The lack of touches he receives on a nightly basis has served as the biggest reason for his decline. While helping lead the Utah Jazz to the playoffs in 2016-17, he averaged 74.7 touches per contest. Fast forward to his time with the Kings, and he’s only getting his paws on the leather 55.0 times per game. When he’s possessing it, it’s also for a shorter amount of time (down from 5.00 seconds to 4.41).

The lack of touches solely has to do with the Kings’ game plan for Hill.

In Utah, he wasn’t always the primary playmaker, but he was used as the primary ball-handler. He averaged the most touches by a Jazz player and received the most passes as well. His teammates constantly looked for him on the perimeter to try and get him an open shot. This resulted in a lot of catch-and-shoot opportunities, where he knocked down 40.6 percent of his 2.7 three-point attempts per game.

In comparison, his new teammates appear to forget about him roaming the outside, often choosing to force a shot in the paint instead of kicking it out to the deadly shooter:

Hill begins the play by cutting through the lane and then receiving a pin-down screen from Vince Carter. Hill’s man, Tony Snell, tries to fight through the screen by going over the top of it, thus taking him through the middle of the lane. That also happens to be where De’Aaron Fox is driving off his pick-and-roll with Zach Randolph, and the entire lane is clogged up by multiple Bucks’ defenders, leaving Hill wide frickin’ open on the three-point line:

We’ll chalk this up to youthful ignorance, and it’s caused a steep decline in Hill’s catch-and-shoot opportunities, where he’s only getting off 1.3 shots per game despite knocking down an even 50 percent of them.

Sacramento has no issues moving the ball on offense, except when it comes to making the efficient pass that leads to a bucket.

The Kings average 326.8 passes, fourth-most in the NBA. However, they rack up assists at a pace similar to molasses in winter, logging 20.3 per game (28th). That ranks them dead last, with only 6.2 percent of their passes resulting directly in a bucket for their team. The Golden State Warriors, the most lethal team in this area, see 9.7 percent of their passes end in a made basket.

This lack of timely ball movement has led to Hill becoming disengaged and standing on the perimeter, watching his teammates force up shots. If he can’t discover the same camaraderie he had with his teammates in Utah, it’s going to be a long, long season for the sharp-shooting point guard as he adds to his list of pouting faces.

2. New York Knicks Use of the Flex Offense

In a game against the Miami Heat on Wednesday, November 26th, head coach Jeff Hornacek and the New York Knicks went old school to get things going. They dusted off the old flex offense and ran it to perfection, resulting in a 21-footer for Kristaps Porzingis:

After Porzingis inevitably won the tip, Jarrett Jack passes the ball ahead to Tim Hardaway Jr. and cuts to the low block. Hardaway then dumps it off to Porzingis at the extended elbow and slinks to the strong-side corner. When Enes Kanter pops up to receive the pass at the opposite elbow, it creates the unmistakeable setup of the flex offense with two guys high and three low:

What comes next is a creative use of fake action to disguise the true intentions of the set. After throwing the ball to Kanter, Porzingis receives a back screen from Jack, who then pops near the top of the key to receive the ball reversal. The back screen is solely there to make the defense think that’s the look the offense is going for. However, the Knicks have no plan to throw it to the big man off the back door.

The reversal triggers Porzingis to set a cross screen for Courtney Lee. More importantly, it causes Justise Winslow to switch his position and put himself between the ball and his man (Porzingis) down low. On the cross screen, Winslow is forced to help for just a half-second to prevent the layup to Lee. This momentary hesitation compromises his position just a little bit too much:

Kanter then swoops in with the pin-down screen (sort of), and his defender fails to help, allowing the Latvian to catch-and-shoot over the smaller Winslow and knock down the jumper for two points.

The flex offense is pretty much dead in the NBA, and for good reason. Its predictability and rigidness allows defenders to anticipate the offense’s movements, thus stopping them before they happen. However, the Knicks show how it can be useful when disguised and designed properly.

3. The Mavericks have Brought the ‘D’ back to Dallas

After becoming a laughing stock in the state of Texas due to a 2-13 start, the Dallas Mavericks have turned it around and are now 5-4 in their last nine games, including an overtime loss to the red-hot Boston Celtics.

Their excruciating path out of the Western Conference basement began with some self-reflection. They needed to look deep inside themselves to find a solution to their self-inflicted woes. With players like Wesley Matthews, Harrison Barnes, Dennis Smith Jr. and even an aging Dirk Nowitzki, this isn’t a team that lacks talent, despite not having any stars.

In order to turn around their fortunes, they incorporated a lock-down approach and started visiting the win column more frequently.

Before they could focus solely on defense, however, they needed to adjust their style of play, turning to a turtle-esque speed to slow down the game in their favor. Don’t get me wrong. Dallas wasn’t playing fast before, only operating with a pace of 99.14 (20th in the NBA) from October 18 to November 16. However, beginning with their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 17, they slowed their offense down even further, playing with a pace of 96.04, which is 25th in the league during that time.

The slower play is a big reason why the Mavs defense has taken a huge step forward. During that time, their defensive rating is 101.4, fifth-best in the NBA. When compared to their previous rating of 108.7, they are much improved on that end of the floor.

They aren’t racking up more blocks or steals than before; they’re simply sticking to their defensive principles and forcing opponents to take more difficult shots by dictating the speed of play. Before the hot streak, the Mavericks only had a defender within two feet (very tight) to contest 6.4 opponent field-goal attempts per game—worst in the land. Since November 17th, they’ve very tightly contested 8.9 opponent shots per contest, making for a nice improvement.

Forcing their opposition to shoot with a man in their face has led to additional stops, and that’s critical for a team that lacks an All-Star-caliber player and needs to rely on its whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

Of course, this is an extremely small sample size. But the results—so far—have been encouraging for a team that isn’t yet ready to throw in the towel. Let’s hope more “D” in the Big D leads to more victories down the road.

4. Eric Bledsoe’s Fit with the Milwaukee Bucks

When the Milwaukee Bucks acquired Eric Bledsoe a month ago, he brought something to the table the team didn’t have at their point guard position: speed.

The incumbents, Matthew Dellavedova and Malcolm Brogdon, are an ordinary pairing at the 1. The former is the hustle player/glue guy/agitator who never quits on his team and can help spread the floor for the omni-attacking Giannis Antetokounmpo. The latter, at 6’5″, has great size for the position and a physical style of play. He too can knock down outside shots and help keep the driving lanes open for his teammates.

However skillful the Brogdon-Dellavedova combination may be, it lacks the elite athleticism Bledsoe brings to Milwaukee. The way he blows by his defender in the blink of an eye is a welcome sight to a team that has a dearth of shot-creators outside of Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton:

The former disgruntled Phoenix Sun can also share the court with either of the point guard holdovers—especially Brogdon.

The 2016-17 Rookie of the Year slides to the 2 when operating alongside Bledsoe, and that may suit him more appropriately. Brogdon struggles to guard the quicker points, often getting torched on the defensive end of the floor. By sliding up a position, his size advantage disappears, but he’s no pushover. He’s physical enough to battle with the stronger wings and savvy enough to force them into tough, contested jumpers over him.

Brogdon also has a propensity for developing an uncanny connection with particular teammates. And it appears he’s doing so with Bledsoe:

Even outside of Brogdon, Bledsoe has seamlessly fit in with the rest of the team.

The most common set the Bucks run comes out of their high-post split series:

Antetokounmpo typically receives the pass at the elbow with one guard in the corner and one somewhere near the three-point wing. After that, it’s a whirlwind of off-ball screens, dribble handoffs, cuts to the basket…you name it. The set really gets the defense moving on that side of the court and forces it to communicate through different types of actions.

But the screens aren’t limited to one side of the floor, as Milwaukee will flow to the weak side if it doesn’t get a look out of its initial movement.

This type of action is great for Bledsoe, as it allows him to operate with plenty of space and take his man off the bounce—one of his strengths:

The rate at which the former Kentucky Wildcat operates is a huge asset in this offense. It creates shots not only for himself, but for his teammates, as well. If the defense collapses on his drives, he can look to lethal shooters on the perimeter in Middleton and Tony Snell. If not, he’ll make the defense pay with his ability to finish around the rim.

With Bledsoe’s speed-based skill set, the Bucks make their opponents prepare for many different looks throughout the game. As time marches on, look for them and their new point guard to keep getting better and better.

5. TPA King from 11/27-12/3: James Harden

James Harden celebrated Christmas early this year with the return of Chris Paul and continued playing winning basketball in Houston. Since Paul’s return, Harden has won back-to-back weekly TPA King awards—a first in this article’s prestigious two-week history.

The Houston Rockets played three games last week, which meant an extra opportunity for Harden to build off the 147.16 score he dropped from Nov. 20-26. And, man, did he capitalize.

The Beard finished the week with a cumulative score of 191.6, just barely edging LeBron James (again) for this week’s award. Of course, it helps when his team won by an average of 19.7 points per game.

Harden’s connection with one of Houston’s only big men, Clint Capela, has led to lots of easy buckets for his running mate and the Rockets in general. He has a magical link with the fourth-year center that leads to many and many (and many) shots around the rim:

And another:

Capela’s baskets have been assisted on 101 times so far this year. Of those buckets, Harden is responsible for an incredible 57 dimes to the big man. I think we know who’s getting a nice present for Harden this year.

It’s not just Capela, however, as Nene has also received an imbalanced number of feeds from the All-NBA candidate. Twenty-two of his assisted buckets have come from the shooting guard, with Paul’s 7 as the next highest total.

The former Arizona State Sun Devil is obviously thriving in this free-flowing, wide-open offensive design. He’s so good at creating easy buckets for everyone on the floor the defense is utterly lost while trying to defend him. Hopefully, this is the year he finally wins his well-deserved MVP award.

Follow Brian on Twitter @BrianSampsonNBA.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from NBA Math, Basketball Reference or NBA.com and are current heading into games on December 6.