NBA: 10 Players Exceeding Expectations Early In 2016-17
2. George Hill
With Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks all injured to start the year, the Utah Jazz have still managed to start the 2016-17 season with a 3-2 record. The reason? Starting point guard George Hill is playing some of the best basketball of his nine-year career.
With Dante Exum still trying to find his groove as a young player coming off an ACL injury, Hill has proven himself as a moderate-to-long-term solution at the 1-spot, averaging a career-high 21.4 points, 4.6 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game on .548/.429/.882 shooting splits.
PG George Hill hopes to stay in Utah long term. He'd be "very interested" in discussing an extension. Jazz are, too. https://t.co/MB44PirMy9
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) November 3, 2016
Those offensive numbers won’t last once Favors shakes off the rust and Hayward returns to action, but in the meantime, Hill has done his part to keep the Jazz competitive on both ends of the floor as a veteran leader, lockdown defender and efficient three-point shooter.
Compared to Jeff Teague, the player he was traded for in a three-team deal, Hill has given Utah the better end of the deal so far. It’s still early, but with Teague struggling to fit in on the Pacers (9.8 PPG, 7.0 APG, 24.6 FG%, 11.1 3P%) and Hill immediately thriving with the Jazz, Utah fans can feel pretty good about this addition early on.