Sixers: George Hill is key to postseason success

The Sixers acquired George Hill at the trade deadline, bolstering the second unit with a battle-tested veteran. While the absence of a blockbuster trade was disappointing, it is clear the Sixers were out-priced when it came to bigger names. Hill will do plenty to help this team.

At 32-13, Philadelphia has a 1.5-game lead over Brooklyn for the first seed in the East. The Sixers have arguably the best defense in the league, and the offense continues to do just enough without Joel Embiid. There’s a very real path to complete home-court advantage in the playoffs — important, now that fans are back in the building.

If the Sixers are to topple Brooklyn, or even Milwaukee, in a potential seven-game series, George Hill will have a large part to play.

The Sixers will need George Hill against Brooklyn and Milwaukee.

Hill’s fit in Philadelphia is well-documented. He’s a career 38.4 percent 3-point shooter and a savvy facilitator. His experience will benefit the locker room, while his ball-handling will add another dynamic to the second unit. He’s better equipped than Shake Milton to truly facilitate bench groups.

That said, Hill’s most important attribute come playoff time is his defense. Daryl Morey has talked at length about Hill’s résumé on that side of the ball. The Sixers’ President of Basketball Operations also noted the ability to place five quality, experienced defenders on the floor in crunch time. Before Hill, the Sixers were already an elite defense. Now, they’re even better.

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Hill should expect a lot of crunch-time minutes on this team. He will help offensively, but more than that, he will give the Sixers one less player to target on defense. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are Defensive Player of the Year candidates, Danny Green is better than he gets credit for, and Tobias Harris has made himself a respectable defender, too. Replace Seth Curry and Hill, and you have a five-man group with zero weak points.

No team is better equipped to target and exploit mismatches than Brooklyn, and Milwaukee is not far behind. If the Sixers want to get to the Finals — to topple the Nets’ burgeoning dynasty — then not allowing Brooklyn to have its way offensively is critical. Hill can check the likes of Kyrie Irving and James Harden, and for a 6-foot-4 guard, he’s a solid bet to compete with bigger players on switches.

With Hill, Matisse Thybulle, and Dwight Howard, the Sixers now have a collection of positive-impact defenders in the second unit. Doc Rivers will have multiple lineup combinations at his disposal that place a premium on defense without sacrificing offense entirely. Hill will be a genuine game-changer offensively, while providing a much more reliable crunch-time defender than Milton or Curry ever would.

The Sixers will be able to smother elite offenses better than any team in basketball. Daryl Morey said it best — that is Philadelphia’s path to a championship. Defense will determine how far Philadelphia goes, and Hill is a pivotal new cog in Rivers’ defensive scheme.

Hill will become the de facto sixth man on this team. He is clearly the best bench player on the roster, and with no reason to break up such a successful starting five, Hill will get his due as the leader of Rivers’ bench groups. And, while he may not start games, Hill will close plenty of them. Missing on Kyle Lowry hurts, but don’t underestimate just how much Hill can and will help.