Milwaukee Bucks: 3 impressive George Hill stats that show his impact

No. 3: George Hill’s defensive activity has been a big positive for the Milwaukee Bucks

One of the biggest concerns with re-signing the 35-year-old Hill was that he may have lost a step or two on the defensive end. He has always been a relatively solid defender through the years, but as he aged, he might fall off a bit. Especially when you dig into his tape and numbers with the Philadelphia 76ers, there was certainly reason for worry.

Through the first eight games of his return to Milwaukee, Hill looks to be almost the same defender that he was when he was traded away. In some aspects, he even looks a bit better!

Specifically, with his steal numbers, Hill is putting up career-best totals. His steal rate (2.0 percent) and steals per game (1.1 and 1.5 per 36 minutes) are the best he’s put up, though it is still early. His 0.9 percent block rate is tied for the fourth-best mark of his career and we’ve already gone over his rebounding numbers, but his defensive rebounding rate, in particular, is at 11.8 percent and that’s the third-best mark of his long career.

Beyond the defensive event stats, Hill is contributing in ways that don’t show up on the traditional box score. He is averaging two deflections per game (16 total, the second-most on the Bucks) and that’s compared to 1.5 per game in his last season with the Bucks and 1.3 the year before that. He is also in the top 20 of guards in contested shots (47).

Hill remains a very active defender and that’s with more defensive responsibility. That will be reduced once Holiday and Middleton come back to defend opposing teams’ best offensive guards and wings.

It was been a near-perfect reunion for Hill and the Milwaukee Bucks, aside from the team’s record and injury report. Hill is still playing impactful basketball overall and will prove to be a very valuable rotation piece once he’s able to return to his usual reserve role.