The Philadelphia 76ers made a move on Thursday that they think will help them position themselves to start in a deep playoff for which they think they are ready. They bought veteran George Hill from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 3-team deal that gives them a solid point of protection.
Hill has played in 127 playoff games in his career and has been in the NBA Finals, as well as several races in the Eastern Conference Finals in his career. In addition, he is a 38.4% deep career player and is a solid defender.
He’s the kind of two-way player President Daryl Morey and coach Doc Rivers are looking for.
“I think Doc had some good comments recently about looking for a two-way guard and being one of what he thought was one of the very few needs for us,” Morey said. “It simply came to our notice then. A veteran two-way guard who can shoot at a very high level and can defend at a high level. ”
When Hill is put in the right role, he can be a very solid player for any team. He shot 46% of the depth of the 2019-20 season with the Milwaukee Bucks and is a solid veteran who can help a fairly young team. That’s something people forget, because Philadelphia relies on younger players on the bench.
“He’s such a solid veteran,” Rivers said. “Only one of those guys who likes your team. Get the hell out of the ball, defend well, good veteran and we are really a young team. Adding a veteran like him will be great for us. ”
Moreover, Morey has placed a strong emphasis on purchasing all the photos he can, to ensure that the floor is properly spaced at all times for Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to work. That brings Hill to the table and his ability to defend is what made him attractive to the Sixers.
“Obviously, filming is a first for us and I think he (Hill) may have led the NBA in filming recently,” Morey added. “I think it was an important topic for us to get the footage in a two-way player, like a kind of Danny. I see it as a purchase as if I did it with Danny Green. A guy who went through a lot of playoff wars. ”
A red flag for some could be the fact that Hill has not played a game since January 24 due to thumb surgery. However, Morey is not too worried about that.
Our medical staff has not yet had a chance to evaluate it, but we understand that its time back is measured and I do not want to give a timeline, but it is not long.
“He had a problem in which he chose to have surgery so that it would never be a problem again,” he explained. “I think that pushed him to recover, but once he returns, it looks like it will be something that never bothers him again. So, we are very optimistic about the fact that it will go from a medical point of view ”.
A big important point in all of this is that Sixers can now launch a unit of guys who can deliver a good game at both ends of the floor. Philadelphia will be a little deeper, now running in the playoffs in May, with a proven, veteran team.
“I think one thing coach Rivers and coach (Dan) Burke can do right now is put five strong boys tested in the playoffs, who can play both ends on the floor at once, if they want to do that in a short time,” he said. concluded Morey. “We’re pretty excited about that.”
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