George Hill, Future All-Star?

George Hill missed nearly half the 2014-15 season but the Indiana Pacers point guard had one of the best seasons of his career when you look at his per a game numbers and advanced statistics.

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The question for the new small-ball Indiana Pacers in 2015-16 is if George Hill keep that going. The answer will be found in whether Hill can show the same Aggressive George Hill™ now that Paul George has returned. If the Pacers were still built in their former slow, big, and defensive model of the past few seasons I’d be much more skeptical of George Hill’s chances to continue posting those numbers. This newer system could be what George Hill is looking for to show what he’s capable of.

Wally Hughes of Hoops Habit thinks it might be enough to get Indiana’s starting point guard into the All-Star game. Hughes points out that in Hill’s 43 games last season that his numbers were very similar to the Eastern Conference’s best.

"Hill responded by taking more shots — a career high 12.4 attempts per game — and shooting 48 percent from the field. He averaged 16.1 points, 5.1 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game while posting a 21.51 Player Efficiency Rating.For comparison, Kyrie Irving, considered by many to be the best point guard in the Eastern Conference, averaged 21.7 points, 5.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game while posting a 21.57 PER last season. John Wall, another elite Eastern Conference point guard, averaged 17.6 points, 10 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game, but had a lower PER (19.92).…The Pacers want to score more points, and a faster tempo will allow Hill to build upon the career year he had a season ago. Furthermore, George and Ellis will take some of the defensive attention off of Hill, which will result in better looks for the point guard.The question really isn’t whether or not George will see a spike in production, but rather, will it be enough to land him a spot on the Eastern Conference All-Star Team roster?I believe Hill will make the jump next season and enter the upper-tier of Eastern Conference point guards. A smaller lineup and faster tempo better suits Hill’s style of play, and he will be able to flourish offensively. It’s purely speculation, but I have a feeling that the 2015-16 season will be the best of Hill’s career. We’ll find out soon enough."

I like Hughes’ optimism, but I don’t know what to expect from George Hill or any of the Pacers this season. We know that PG is expected to play the power forward position, but it’s hard to know exactly what roles everyone else will be filling. Will Monta Ellis shoot too much and not allow Aggressive George Hill™ to be himself? At best we are taking educated guesses of how this season’s Indiana Pacers team play. The style of play is expected to benefit both Paul George and George Hill, but how it works in real life is still a big question.

Even if the offensive side works fine there is the question of whether Frank Vogel can keep the defense respectable. Vogel’s defensive schemes worked by forcing shooters off the 3-point line and into mid-range or deep into the verticality of Roy Hibbert. Roy is gone now and for all the gripes about his offense, he’s a better scorer than Ian Mahinmi. Jordan Hill is a slightly better scorer than Hibbert, but not the same sort of rim defender. Will Myles Turner be ready to start and defend the rim? We don’t know.

And how Monta Ellis handles defense will test George Hill and any other players sharing the floor in the back-court. Many of the questions about whether Aggressive George Hill™ can still be himself will heavily depend on how well the current Indiana Pacers roster will fit together.

There is plenty of reason for optimism around George Hill and the Indiana Pacers this year, but there is also many questions for this team to answer.

Next: Pacers Sign Glenn Robinson III

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