Why George Hill's impact deserves more attention

The Cleveland Cavaliers are headed to the 2018 NBA Finals. The media spotlight has been on LeBron James, but who had the best plus-minus per game for Cleveland in the Boston series? George Hill at plus 2.0 (Lebron +1.6). And, the best on- and off-court difference, George Hill +3.1 (LeBron +2.4). But, you say, these are small numbers and small differences. Let’s look at the decisive game 7. George’s plus-minus was +24 and Lebron’s +8. (As an aside, George Hill also had a +24 plus-minus in two other Playoff games.)

In game seven in Boston, George’s on- and off-court net was 30 points and LeBron’s was +8 – LeBron having never been off the court. Think of George’s impact in game seven. While he was on the court Cleveland outscored Boston by 24 and while he was off the floor Boston outscored Cleveland by 16, the result an 8-point Cleveland victory.

However, this wasn’t just a Boston series occurrence. During the entire Eastern Conference Playoffs, George averaged a plus-minus of +4.6 (LeBron +2.4) and an on- and off-court net of +7.2 (LeBron +3.3). George’s Net Rating during these Playoffs was +7.6 (110.7-103) points per 100 possessions, the highest on team of anyone who played more than 5 games. The next highest were Kover +5.6, Calderon (10 games) +4.3, JR Smith +4.1 – LeBron was +2.9. When George was off the court, Cleveland had a net rating of -5.6 (103.4-109.0) during the Eastern Playoffs. This was a giant on- off-court difference in net ratings of +12.2. This difference came about half and half from the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

You say this is because James played large minutes and had to play with everyone who played well or poorly, but George did not. Certainly, this had some effect, but lineup data is interesting. In the 400 minutes George and LeBron were on the floor together, their net rating was +8.4 (112.7-104.3). During the Playoffs, the Cavs were a +71 in 400 minutes with James and Hill on the floor together. They were a -33 in 343 minutes with James on the floor without Hill.

Of course, George Hill’s mere presence did not guarantee victory. In the 15 Playoff games in which George Hill played, Cleveland was 10-5. In the 3 he did not play, they were 2-1. However, George Hill’s effect on the Boston series and indeed throughout the Playoffs was much larger than most realize, and seldom mentioned in the media.