Sixers guard George Hill: ‘I will be back this season for sure’

Point guard George Hill has a message for 76ers fans who are worried about his availability this season: “I will be back before [the] playoffs for sure.”

Hill, who was acquired from Oklahoma City at the March 25 trade deadline in a three-team deal that also included New York, has not played since suffering a right thumb injury Jan. 24. He had surgery Feb. 2.

“No one knows the timetable yet, but I will be back this season for sure,” Hill said Thursday in his first interview with the Sixers’ media.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid’s defense goes way beyond the box score

Hill is traveling with the Sixers, who will play the second of a four-game road trip on Friday in New Orleans against Zion Williamson and the Pelicans. The Sixers came home after Tuesday’s 106-96 win in Boston and were headed to New Orleans on Thursday.

Hill’s injury is described as a mallet finger injury. Also known as “baseball finger,” it can occur when a ball bends a finger backward and injures a tendon, according to orthoinfo.org.

“I just got the cast off like a week and a half ago or so, so I am just doing the rehab with our PT staff,” Hill said. “The rare thing is that it is a mallet on the thumb, rather than normally fingers. ... I’ve been blessed enough to come here and it is not being rushed to get back and the team is doing a great job and gives you a cushion to make sure it is right and get back into rhythm.”

Hill also said that he has to get in basketball shape.

“With your Achilles, your ankles, your legs, and things like that, so just getting back into shape,” Hill said. “Getting back into a rhythm of and groove of just basketball, period. From me coming in the last couple of days to now, the progress has been tremendous, it’s really going well, so it is going to be sooner than expected.”

One of the reasons Hill was acquired was due to his extensive playoff resume.

Hill has appeared in the postseason in 11 of his 13 NBA seasons. Hill, who turns 35 on May 4, has appeared in 127 career playoff games, averaging 12.1 points.

Hill says he hasn’t been told whether he would be starting or coming off the bench and adds that it doesn’t matter either way.

“I have never been the type to care about if I’m starting or care about if I’m coming off the bench or how many shots I’m getting or things like that,” he said. “The only thing that matters to me is winning basketball games, playing the right way, having fun and competing, so that is up to the coaches and the staff if they want me to start or come off the bench.”

So he won’t be complaining about how he is used or how much he plays.

“Any role they give me, I am going to embrace with open arms, no matter if it is 30 minutes or 15 minutes, I am going to go out there and play hard and compete and try to help us win games,” he said.

Sixers forward Danny Green said recently that he and Hill talked over the summer when they were working out in San Antonio about Hill coming to the Sixers.

He told Green, “If I could go to a couple of places, this is one of my choices.”

Hill had a simple reason for being so high on the Sixers (35-16) and his opinion has only been strengthened by what he has seen this season.

» READ MORE: The Sixers have surpassed the Celtics, and have validated Sam Hinkie’s tenure | David Murphy

“I felt like we had a good enough team here to compete for a championship,” he said.

A career 38.4% three-point shooter, he hopes to bring another perimeter threat to the lineup.

“I think one thing they were probably missing was outside shooting and things like that, outside of Danny and a couple of other guys,” he said. “And I am just trying to fill that void, to fill that missing piece for a championship.”

He looks forward to competing in front of the Sixers’ fans.

“As an opponent, you really kind of soak in the tradition here, the way the fans are, the atmosphere they bring — they are diehard fans,” he said. “[If] you are playing good, you are playing bad, they are going to let you know. ...You want fans that care about their sport, care about their team, and want to see their team win games, so it is a great place.”