Have you ever had an older pair of shoes and you try to get rid of them, only to find that the new pair doesn’t quite fit the same as the old one, so you have to go back? Take that and apply it to the Milwaukee Bucks with their backup point guards in the last few seasons when they traded George Hill as part of a package to get Jrue Holiday.
They tried to replace him by bringing in D.J. Augustin on a contract that looks even worse now than it did at the time. So what did the Bucks do? Well first, they flipped Augustin as salary filler to get P.J. Tucker and used Jeff Teague as a stopgap, but then they brought back George Hill!
It’s always nice to reunite with an old friend, but it’s even better when you reunite and pick up right where you left off. I’m abandoning the shoe analogy because there was a bit of a rough patch in the preseason for Hill, so it wasn’t a seamless fit like that old pair of shoes, but we’re getting there.
The reacquisition of George Hill has paid immediate dividends for the Milwaukee Bucks
Hill did indeed struggle a bit in the preseason, but there wasn’t much cause for concern because, well, it’s preseason. However, after a tough game one and then struggling to begin game two, there was a bit of worry that his struggles with the Philadelphia 76ers carried over to the Bucks, but through the last couple of games, Hill is showing why the Bucks needed him back.
There was also a bit of squabbling about his contract and whether it was a good idea to pay a 35-year-old guard part of your tax exception, but if we continue to see the Hill that we’ve gotten early on, he’ll be well worth the four million he’s getting over this season and next.
Game one was a bit of a struggle for the veteran guard, posting a minus-6 and missing all three of his shots. He did manage to fill in the gaps with five rebounds, three assists, and a block, but it was clear he was not quite the same player we were used to seeing from a couple of seasons ago.
He even struggled to begin the game against the Miami Heat (heck, who didn’t), but he figured it out, and after a rough start by the entire team, they leveled off a little and Hill settled into his role. Outside of a minus-8 in the first quarter, Hill posted one of the better plus/minus ratings on the team in a game where they lost every quarter.
Then against the San Antonio Spurs, he got going and was one of the biggest catalysts for getting them through that game. Hill poured in 15 points on 5-of-6 from the field, hitting all three of his 3-point attempts, and chipped in with a couple of rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
His presence has been great for the Bucks who have dealt with multiple injuries to Jrue Holiday through the first few games, something that wouldn’t have been as easy last year with Augustin. Hill fits exactly what the Bucks need from their backup point guard because of his size and shooting. He’s a bigger guard, can defend multiple positions, and knock down threes at a high clip.
As we expected coming in, Hill has also played a lot with Holiday. He’s played about 30 percent of his minutes at shooting guard and the Bucks are plus-42.3 points per 100 possessions in those minutes, per Cleaning the Glass. It’s a very small sample, but it’s a good reminder that Hill’s versatility is an asset, and head coach Mike Budenholzer knows how to get the most out of him.
The Bucks will only benefit from having an extra ball-handler, shooter, and competent defender in their rotation and it seems as though Hill has put the early struggles behind him. He’s showing his immediate value to the team already but when the reacquisition of Hill is going to show its merit will be come playoff time, when there won’t be a constant feeling of dread when a guard not named Jrue Holiday is on the court handling the ball and getting the Bucks into their offense.
Expect to see some rest days for the veteran throughout the year to manage his workload and keep him in peak performance when the playoffs roll around for the Milwaukee Bucks.