NBA Sixth Man Ladder: Familiar faces lead 1st look at top bench honor

Veteran George Hill struggled at times last season with his mid-season switch from a starting role to coming off the bench, but with an offseason to adjust, he’s been much better for the Milwaukee Bucks this season.

He’s not the sort of microwave scorer off the bench many of the top candidates are, but Hill has been efficient and productive for a team that leads the Eastern Conference with a 16-3 record — team success is a factor in the voting, at least based on recent results.

Hill is averaging 9.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists while averaging 22.5 minutes per game. After putting up a shooting line of 42.8/28.0/81.5 in 47 appearances off the bench after being acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, Hill is firing at a much better clip so far this season, hitting 51.8 percent overall and 50.0 percent on 3.2 3-point attempts per game.

A career 38.1 percent shooter from deep, there will likely be some regression to the mean for Hill, now in his 12th season. Per 36-minutes, the 33-year-old is putting up his best numbers since he was with the Utah Jazz in 2016-17 — 15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.1 steals.

Hill would have to be considered a long shot at this point, but he’s leading the second unit for one of the two best teams in the NBA right now. That has to count for something.