Many, including myself, were excited when it was reported that the Milwaukee Bucks would be bringing back George Hill. The backup point guard situation was a disaster last season as the team navigated between D.J. Augustin and Jeff Teague, so Hill was seen as a big upgrade and a much steadier presence.
However, there was some concern after Hill began to look his age in his short stint with the Philadelphia 76ers. The 35-year-old shot a little over 46 percent on 2-point attempts and he looked passive. Defensively, it also looked as if his age was catching up with him as he looked a step slow at that end.
Regardless, it was always going to be an upgrade over what the Bucks had last year. But has Hill lived up to expectations and should they look into acquiring another backup point guard option?
Despite his struggles, the Milwaukee Bucks don’t need to upgrade on George Hill
If you’re comparing Hill to his previous season and a half with the Bucks, then he has not lived up to the same expectations that he set in that time. In 135 games, Hill posted a near 60 percent true shooting percentage and averaged eight points as well as nearly three rebounds and three assists.
His numbers even went up in the playoffs, averaging 10 points on over 63 percent true shooting. He provided a steadying presence behind Eric Bledsoe and was capable of playing both on and off the ball when needed. He has a bigger frame than most backup point guards which helped him be, at least, a net neutral on defense.
We haven’t seen the same 3-point shooting from Hill, which has caused his numbers to suffer a bit. He is shooting 30 percent from deep this year, the lowest mark of his career. He had a hot start, which initially showed immediate dividends as to why the Bucks brought him back. However, he’s hit a recent rough patch and has shot 25 percent from 3 over his last 16 games.
That, in turn, has caused his true shooting to suffer a bit; 56.5 percent which is lower than his true shooting with the Sixers in both the regular season and playoffs.
He is shooting over 93 percent at the free-throw line, but his free throw attempt rate is at the lowest of his career at 20.2 percent. It’s a bit curious as to why he isn’t getting the free throw attempts that he used to, considering he is getting to the rim at a relatively high rate. Per Cleaning the Glass (subscription required), he is getting to the rim on 32 percent of his attempts (75th percentile among combo guards) and is shooting 75 percent at the rim (96th percentile).
Then diving into his 3-point numbers, you can see a couple of big swings in his splits. First of all, he is 0-of-17 on pull-up 3s this season, per NBA.com/stats, but is 24-of-62 on catch-and-shoot 3s, which is over 38 percent and would be a solid mark. He is also shooting over 47 percent on corner 3s but only 17 percent on above the break 3s. If the pull-up and above the break numbers normalize slightly, we should see the overall 3-point percentage normalize as well.
The biggest feather in Hill’s cap is how much better the Bucks are when he’s playing. This isn’t the be-all, end-all but the Bucks’ defense is over 13 points per 100 possessions better when he’s on the floor, which is one of the best marks at any position.
You saw the trust that head coach Mike Budenholzer has in Hill in big moments, putting him on the floor to close the game against the Boston Celtics when the Bucks went switch-heavy. The Celtics went after Hill on defense, but that’s also because he was the smallest and oldest defender on the floor.
Overall, the Bucks have a plus-19.2 differential when Hill is on the floor and that’s what should matter most of all. If they’re winning his minutes by that large of a margin, there is an inherent that value he is bringing to the team. For comparison, the Bucks had a minus-1 differential with Augustin on and a near-minus-8 differential with Teague on.
It’s similar to how people viewed Pat Connaughton before he became a lights-out 3-point shooter. His impact wouldn’t always show up in the box score, but the Bucks consistently won his minutes.
This isn’t a long-term solution to the backup point guard role by any means. Hill is 35 and there are signs he’s lost a step but he’s still playing a very solid level and is making an impact on the floor.