The Philadelphia 76ers made a move on Thursday that they believe will help position themselves to go on a deep playoff run that they believe they are set up for. They acquired veteran George Hill from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 3-team deal that gives them a solid backup point guard.
Hill has played in 127 playoff games in his career and he has been to the NBA Finals as well as a couple of runs to the Eastern Conference Finals in his career. On top of that, he is a career 38.4% shooter from deep and he is a solid defender.
He is the type of two-way player that 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 that being one of the, what he thought, was one of the very few needs for us,” said Morey. “That’s what we got with George. A veteran two-way guard who can shoot at a very high level and defend at a high level.”
When Hill is put in the right role, he can be a really solid player for any team. He shot 46% from deep in the 2019-20 season with the Milwaukee Bucks and he is a solid veteran who can help a pretty young team. That is something that people do forget as Philadelphia relies on younger players off the bench.
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“He’s just such a solid veteran,” said Rivers. “Just one of those guys who just like on your team. He shots the heck out of the ball, defends well, good veteran, and we’re really a young team. Adding a veteran like him will be great for us.”
On top of that, Morey has put a big emphasis on acquiring all of the shooting he possibly can to make sure the floor is properly spaced at all times for Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to operate. That is what Hill brings to the table and his ability to defend is what made him attractive to the Sixers.
“Obviously, shooting being a premium for us, and I think he (Hill) maybe led the NBA in shooting recently,” Morey added. “I think that’s been a big theme for us to get the shooting in a two-way player like sort of Danny. I sort of see him as an acquisition like we did with Danny Green. A guy who’s been through a lot of playoff wars.”
A red flag for some could be the fact that Hill has not played a game since Jan. 24 due to thumb surgery. However, Morey is not too worried about that.
Our medical staff hasn’t had a chance to evaluate him yet, but our understanding is that his time back is measured and I don’t want to give a timeline, but it’s not long.
“He had an issue where he chose to have surgery on it so that will never be an issue again,” he explained. “I think that pushed out his recovery, but once he’s back, apparently it will be something that never bothers him again. So we’re very optimistic about him going forward medically.”
A big important sticking point in all of this is that the Sixers now can roll out a unit of guys who can provide good play on both ends of the floor. Philadelphia will be a bit deeper now rolling into the playoffs in May with a proven, veteran team.
“I think one thing that coach Rivers and coach (Dan) Burke can do right now is put five strong playoff tested guys who can play both ends on the floor at one time if they want to do that in crunch time,” Morey finished. “We’re pretty excited about that.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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