This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Oakland • Utah Jazz point guard George Hill certainly wanted to play in Thursday night's Game 2 against the Golden State Warriors.

But the sore toe that's dogged him for months simply wouldn't let him be effective defensively against the likes of Stephen Curry. And that's why the Jazz chose to sit him in what was an important playoff game.

Much like the regular season, Hill's toe has been bothering him for a chunk of Utah's playoff run. Against the Los Angeles Clippers — Utah won the first-round series in seven games — Hill dealt with soreness and pain.

He underwent therapy between games and took it light during shootarounds and practices, sources told The Tribune. In the end, the schedule in the first round proved beneficial to Hill and the Jazz. Twice, the series had two days between games, which allowed Hill the downtime to recover and find his way onto the floor.

The second-round schedule has been more unforgiving. The Jazz and the Warriors play every other day, and the short turnaround between Game 7 against the Clippers and Game 1 against the Warriors limited Hill's explosion, his ability to cut, defend and even run.

"You reach a point where it's hard to be effective," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "I saw it when I watched George in his ability to get back and defend the ball."

This raises questions for Hill in the remainder of the second-round series against Golden State: Will he be able to play? And if he is, will be be himself?

A source told The Tribune Hill can "maybe" play in Saturday night's Game 3. His intent is to play, but he has to prove he can play to his capabilities. Hill has been in significant pain, having to unlace his shoe whenever he comes out for a rest or has some downtime.

But the wear and tear showed in Game 1. In 28 minutes, he scored seven points and shot 3 of 9 from the field. He struggled to stay in front of Curry, who dominated the early part of the game, and was a minus-15.

Overall, Hill was good in the Clippers series. He averaged 15.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists in the seven games. He was particularly good in Game 7, scoring 17 points and holding Chris Paul to his worst game of the first round.

That's why Hill's Game 1 against the Warriors stood out so much. It was his first postseason game scoring in single-digits, and the first time in the postseason he didn't take at least 10 shots.

It was obvious that something was wrong.

tjones@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribjazz