Milwaukee Bucks: Expectations have rapidly increased for George Hill

After securing his stay with the Milwaukee Bucks for the long-term this summer, veteran guard George Hill will be tasked with an even greater load of responsibilities next season, in light of the few changes the team made.

The dust is finally starting to settle for the Milwaukee Bucks this offseason.

After operating incisively in the opening hours and days of this year’s free agency period and retaining many of their own free agents, the vast majority of them playing integral roles throughout their transformative 60-win season last year, the Bucks are poised to follow up their long awaited breakthrough season as a top NBA contender.

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Of course, the sudden exit of then-restricted free agent Malcolm Brogdon shocked a good portion of Bucks fans and stands as the most notable departure for the squad this offseason.

While we’ll have to patiently wait to see the on-court effects from losing Brogdon, the Bucks bringing back veteran guard George Hill was an unforeseen development to many in their long list of free agency transactions so far.

Signing for a three-year, $29 million contract, the final year of his deal reportedly being partially guaranteed, Hill grew into a pivotal contributor after he arrived to Milwaukee midway through last season. At first, the 33-year-old floor general was instrumental in fortifying the team’s bench mob and prioritizing their work as a defensive unit, as he told Eric Nehm of The Athletic in early January of this year:

"“The first day I got here I sat down with Tony Snell, Sterling (Brown) and D.J. (Wilson) and Thon (Maker),” Hill said. “And I said, ‘Look. Our starting five is great right now and they’re playing at a high level. Our job is to come in off the bench and it’s not about points. It’s not about how many times a guy is shooting the ball or how many a guy is scoring. It’s about either keeping the score at the same level or getting better, being in the pluses. That’s what we have to do.’“We have to come in, bring the energy every night, and make it where we can give our starters long periods of rest and everyone’s been committed to that. We just play the right way. We’re going to defend at a high level and worry about offense second.”"

That would also be a fitting way to describe how Hill’s impact with the Bucks was first felt as it took Hill some time to find his rhythm offensively and acclimate to the free flowing system that the Bucks rode with under head coach Mike Budenholzer.

Eventually, though, Hill found his footing as an offensive spark in the latter half of the season, which was much needed in light of Brogdon going down with a plantar fascia injury in mid-March.

And of course, that all culminated during the Bucks’ playoff run when Hill’s ultra efficient, stable play (11.5 points per game on 534/.417/.818 shooting splits) made him vital to their success, and he was thrusted into a bigger role as Eric Bledsoe increasingly faltered in the Conference Finals loss to the Toronto Raptors.

All of that made Hill that much more of a necessity to bring back and despite his public willingness to extend his stint in Milwaukee, the team’s existing free agency priorities and salary cap situation was a mighty big hurdle that initially threatened that possibility. After plenty of maneuverings to free up the cap space needed to re-sign the Indiana native, which included waiving Hill ahead of his salary guaranteeing on his previous deal, the Bucks didn’t let Hill twist in the wind too long while in the open market.

With Hill standing as a key cog within the Bucks’ foundation for the foreseeable future, there’s a chance he may bear a greater weight in not only replicating the role he supplied last year, but sustaining his late season/playoff-level effectiveness (though, it would be unreasonable to ask for the same efficiency standards).

There isn’t a player that brings the same the all-purpose, complementary skill set that Hill has fashioned over his previous 11 NBA seasons within the Bucks’ backcourt, especially in light of jettisoning Brogdon to the Hoosier State.

Even under the assumption that Bledsoe will revert back to the regular season form that we’ve seen over the last two seasons, Hill’s smooth, dynamic scoring off the dribble will be even a greater necessity off the bench to give the Bucks a boost in the times when they need a scoring punch. And Hill’s veteran know-how still stands as an asset even as the Bucks have gained more experienced players this offseason between the additions of Robin Lopez and Wesley Matthews.

At his age, and with a slightly harried injury history, such as a nagging toe injury that plagued him throughout his career year with the Utah Jazz a couple of seasons ago, Hill’s durability may come more into focus with a heightened role as the Bucks have yet to find a third guard behind both Bledsoe and Hill at this time of writing.

From the moment the Bucks acquired Hill last season, any and all contributions he provided over the course of the year were an incredible luxury to the squad, even as his role transformed and led to him entering into the spotlight throughout their playoff run.

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Barring any significant changes or additions to the rotation from now and the start of training camp, Hill functioning as a pseudo sixth man will be fundamental to the Bucks conjuring up the same level of success they experienced last year.

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