Milwaukee Bucks: Who will be the most important reserve next season?

The case for George Hill as the Milwaukee Bucks’ most important bench player

Most fans probably remember just how crucial Hill was off the bench for the Bucks in his first 106-game stint with the team.

For those that need reminding, Hill shot 46 percent from three over 59 games in 2019-20 while also grabbing three rebounds and dishing out three assists per game. It’s unrealistic to think he hits that number again from deep (same goes with Bobby Portis), but he has shot 40 percent from three (3.2 attempts) since his age-30 season in 2016-17. So there is a reasonable expectation that he should shoot around 38-to-40 percent from deep. That number stays pretty consistent in the playoffs as well, where he shot 39.5 percent with the Bucks over 25 playoff games.

Hill also has the ability to play both the point and shooting guard spots, so he can be on the floor with Jrue Holiday and in the Bucks’ small ball lineups. But most of his importance will be solidifying their backup point guard role, which was a source of frustration for many fans last season between the failed D.J. Augustin signing and the Jeff Teague buyout pickup.

Hill is 35 and will be 36 come playoff time, so there’s a lot of tread on the tires, but there’s a familiarity that he has with what the Bucks do and he won’t be asked to do as much with Holiday around as opposed to his first go-around when he had to pick up the slack when Eric Bledsoe struggled.