Milwaukee Bucks: 3 reasons why the Bucks are better than last season
By Cody Larson
George Hill’s historic shooting surge
When your star player is in the mold of Giannis Antetokounmpo (ignoring the fact nobody is really in the mold of Giannis), it’s ideal to have an elite pull-up shooting point guard alongside him. To compare, it’s why Kyrie Irving worked so well alongside LeBron James; the point guard opens the floor for the inside-scoring star.
Milwaukee has lacked this sort of trickery in past years with Giannis, despite being a top-ranked shooting team for a while now. This year, that is no longer the case. Because now Milwaukee’s depth chart features the league leader in 3-point percentage; who in fact was already on the team last year.
George Hill is shooting a jaw-dropping 51.3 percent from beyond this season. He leads the league by two percentage points. He also leads the league in 3-point percentage from the corner, making an amazing 57 percent of his shots from there.
George Hill’s 2018-19
- 31.4% 3-point percentage
- 32% on corner 3s
George Hill’s 2019-20
- 51.3% 3-point percentage
- 57% on corner 3s
The most impressive aspect of all this is where George Hill last year. The Bucks have been a top 3-point shooting team in both 2018-19 and 2019-20. The only difference is last year Hill might’ve been “holding the team back” last year; now he is the one leading the charge.
Hill’s one season increase in 3-point shooting from 31.4 percent in 2018-19 to 51.3 percent in 2019-20 equals out to a 19.9 percent increase (quick math). That ridiculous increase is on pace to be the best increase in 3-point shooting of all-time (100 attempts minimum).
His history-making improvement from downtown has opened up Milwaukee’s offense even further. Likewise, his game fits perfectly alongside Giannis. Hill has been putting together a strong Sixth Man of the Year award case this season; his improved jumper is a big reason why.