Sixers lineup combination: Altered chemistry
- Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Danny Green, George Hill, Ben Simmons
During the Embiid era, the Sixers’ starting five — virtually every iteration of it — has been one of the best five-man groups in the NBA. This season is no different, with Embiid in the MVP discussion, Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris playing career-best basketball, and the likes of Danny Green and Seth Curry sinking copious 3s.
That said, with the addition of George Hill comes a potential upgrade to closing lineups. Hill played plenty of crunch-time minutes with Milwaukee last season and his experience bodes well when the stakes are raised. He is a defensive upgrade over Seth Curry and a sizable playmaking upgrade in the halfcourt. While it makes sense to bring him off the bench to bolster a weak second unit, expect Hill to get a fair amount of time next to the starters — especially when the games start to count.
Hill is 6-foot-4 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan. He is another battle-tested defender who brings versatility to the Sixers’ backcourt. He can defend point guards at the top of the key, or chase wings around while using his length to disrupt passing lanes. On offense, Hill is a career 38.6 percent 3-point shooter with a strong 3.1-to-0.9 assist-to-turnover ratio in 14 games this season.
Getting plenty of run with Hill in the closing lineup will be important for Doc Rivers as he formulates the playoff rotations in his head. Hill is bound to be important either way, but there’s reason to believe some of his biggest contributions could come late in games.