George Hill finally made his Sixers debut, scoring just two points (1-for-5 from the field) and while the point guard said he wasn’t happy with his performance, Doc Rivers told a different story postgame.
“He actually looked great overall, you know, he’s a little rusty…but he’s just so darn smart. He did so many little things,” Rivers told FortyEightMinutes and other media after the loss.”I’m very happy to have him. Let me put it that way. He’s going to really help us.”
Rivers added that the veteran is likely to be used in four-guard lineups at times going forward, as we saw on Monday night (the coach also admitted that he had to play Hill more than he would have liked in the point guard’s debut with Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris out).
Before the contest, Hill told Rivers that he knew he would be a little rusty offensively and he wanted to contribute on defense, tackling the assignment of guarding Steph Curry.
“I just like to compete. No matter what I’m going to compete defensively,” Hill said. “…I’m thankful that coach trusts me to compete and guard a guy like Curry.”
The former MVP put up 49 points in his 37 minutes of play, though Hill only matchup up with Curry for a fraction of those. Not sure any team could really stop Curry but Philadelphia didn’t exactly put out their best as they attempted to. Doc Rivers & Co. opted to put Hill and Seth Curry on the former MVP, for much of the game.
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- Hill hadn’t played since January 24 because of a thumb injury and he spoke postgame about what it meant to finally get back out on the court. “When you’re playing the game, your mentality is always so high but when you are not playing, it gives you a different perspective of not taking things for granted,” Hill told FortyEightMinutes and other media after the contest.
- Matisse Thybulle spoke highly of Hill as a mentor. “He’s been huge for me…I’m excited to start playing with him.” While Hill hadn’t seen action with the Sixers until Monday night, he had been traveling with the team for several weeks.
- Asked about the status of Simmons, who missed the game with a non-COVID-related illness, Rivers told reporters that he really didn’t know. “I’m not a real doctor,” the coach joked. The team’s next game is Wednesday against the Suns at home.
