George Hill's Minutes Restriction Has Been Lifted by Pacers

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The Indiana Pacers get back to basketballing tomorrow night against the Philadelphis 76ers, and George Hill will be off his medically imposed minutes restriction. Still, even though the doctors say he is fully fit, head coach Frank Vogel understands that the rest of the season is still a marathon, not a sprint.

So he won’t run George Hill into the ground, instead trying not to play the team’s starting point guard any more than about eight minutes per quarter, per @Pacers.

Vogel, on George Hill's playing time: "It's unlimited, but we want to be smart... I'll probably keep it around 7 or 8 minutes a quarter."
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) February 19, 2015

That puts Hill at a maximum of about 32 minutes per game.

Which sounds about right.

The more he is on the court, the better the team plays. During his 358 minutes on the floor this season, the Pacers have been 9.7 points per 100 possessions better than when he has been on the sideline. To put that number in context, that’s the difference between the Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic this season.

In addition to Hill coming off his minutes restriction, Ian Mahinmi (who returned right before the break) and Lavoy Allen are both available again.

Mahinmi said he feels great after a sprained ankle. "I'm glad I had that game before break for a bit of momentum." pic.twitter.com/GSetPZRfEH
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) February 19, 2015

Mahinmi missed three games in February with a sprained ankle before returning during the team’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans. He also missed 18 games in December with a torn plantar fascia and had his training camp interrupted by a shoulder injury that he suffered while playing for France in preparation for the FIBA World Cup this summer.

Lavoy Allen sat out the past six games after spraining his right knee during Indiana’s rout of the New York Knicks on January 29.

Coach Vogel, after today's practice: "I think having almost our whole team healthy gives us confidence." pic.twitter.com/AYl5bOFvIw
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) February 19, 2015

We have discussed the health woes of this team nearly every day of the season.

Here is a big breakdown from a little while ago, but it really is hard to overstate just how ravaged this team has been by injuries this year. I’ve never seen anything like it.

They are obviously suffering worse than any other team in the league this season, and I would love to see some games missed analysis over all of NBA history. It really can’t get much worse than it’s been.

Check out this graphic from a recent Fox Sports Indiana Pacers game broadcast.