Milwaukee Bucks: 3 burning questions following the 2021 preseason

Should fans be worried about George Hill’s sluggish preseason with the Milwaukee Bucks?

Signing George Hill to be their new backup point guard was viewed as one of the most significant offseason wins for the defending champions. No disrespect to Jeff Teague, who will be an NBA champion forever, but replacing him with Hill was viewed as a massive upgrade by the Bucks. Yet, Hill did not exactly make a strong first impression during his second stint in Milwaukee after a rough preseason.

Across three games, Hill averaged just five points while shooting 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from the field and a whopping zero percent (0-for-8) from 3-point range. It is uncharacteristic for the guard to struggle this mightily to score the basketball, particularly from the outside. After all, this is the same player that led the NBA in 3-point percentage just two seasons ago by shooting 46 percent from the outside. The Bucks were hoping he could rekindle some of that magic when they brought him back in the offseason, but he did just the opposite in the preseason.

In addition to his scoring and shooting struggles, the guard’s facilitating was also far from perfect. He dished out just four assists in his three games, having logged five turnovers to go along with it. Hill was viewed as someone that could help orchestrate the offense when Jrue Holiday was off the floor, but this stretch does not showcase that to any degree. In fact, it has caused some worry that the team might have a backup point guard problem on their hands just as they did last season.

It is easy to roll with the classic, “it is just the preseason,” but Hill’s play does spark some worry to different degrees. It is not time to enter full-on panic mode, but it is no secret that Hill signed with the Bucks after a subpar close to the season with the Philadelphia 76ers. There was always some risked involved with bringing him back after that, but there will be no clear-cut answers until Hill is given some legitimate time with the Bucks in the regular season. This preseason period is used to give players like Hill an opportunity to find their footing, and he just could not find a groove.

Fans can only hope that this was just a rough string of games for the veteran guard.