When it comes to creating a bit of space for a shot himself then I agree, Defoe's actually quite good. That's about all he can do. Hernandez's build-up play is hit-and-miss and he does play some terrible passes but he's also far more capable of setting up his team-mates than Defoe. If Defoe can't create space for himself he just passes it to a team-mate 5 yards away, Hernández takes a lot more responsibility to try and advance the play even though he's obviously well aware he's not as gifted as so many others in the team. He's actively involved himself in the build-up throughout this season and done so well for the most part.
If Defoe were here he'd be asked to do the same thing and be shown up as a far more limited player. Even now when he's allowed to concentrate on just doing the basics he gives the ball just as often as Hernández whether that's through being dispossessed too easily or just inexplicably passing to the opposition. He plays just as many terrible passes but pretty much never sets up a team-mate with a nice piece of build-up play. We've seen more than a few great crosses and passes from Hernández this year in amongst the poorer ones. By the time he's Defoe's age it'll just look silly that they were ever compared in this sense, IMO.
