Season stats: 10.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.0 APG in 21.5 MPG; .556/.532/.860
Last 3 weeks: 11.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.8 APG in 20.4 MPG; .600/.575/.950
When George Hill was acquired by the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers in December 2018, he went from starter to reserve and struggled in the transitional process. It was the first time Hill had done extensive bench duty since 2011-12 and it showed, as he averaged just 6.8 points in 20.4 minutes per game on .428/.280/.815 shooting.
What a difference an offseason of preparation has made.
Hill has been white-hot over the last three weeks, shooting 60.0 percent overall and knocking down 57.5 percent on 2.9 3-point attempts per game. That hot spell has propelled Hill into the NBA lead in 3-point shooting for the season at 53.2 percent.
He scored 21 points in 27 minutes as the Bucks beat the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 19 and had 17 points and nine rebounds in a blowout victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
Now at age 33, the reduced role is helping Hill make the most of his minutes, as he has a 67.8 effective field goal percentage — by far the best of his career — and he’s got the best true shooting percentage in the NBA at .707.
And while Win Shares is a flawed statistic, it is notable that Hill has more in 30 games thus far this season (3.5) than he had in either of the last two seasons.