Doc Rivers provides some clarity on George Hill thumb injury suffered in OKC
There was a little bit of speculation around the thumb injury of George Hill when he was on the Oklahoma City Thunder. After suffering the injury on January 24 and receiving surgery, he was in a hard cast until around March 22.
Without a whole lot of information released by the team, it felt like a long time to be out with a thumb injury. Some assumed that for a tanking team, prolonged caution and rehab seemed like a good way to allow younger players to see the floor until the team could trade Hill.
Yet the guard has not appeared in the six games since he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, and head coach Doc Rivers said it could be quite some time until Hill is ready.
“There’s no timetable that I know of, to be honest,” Rivers said, according to the Sixers Wire. “I can’t see it anytime soon, honestly.”
Hill is with the Sixers on their four-game road trip, but he doesn’t sound likely to play during it.
Rivers said he suffered the same injury during his playing days.
“You mess around with (it) and just one whack, you may not get injured, but the pain is excruciating because your nerves are so raw,” Rivers explained. “We’re going to try to be as tentative as possible with this injury.”
Rivers’ injury occurred in the playoffs, so he played through it.
“You’re fine, you’re healthy, but the pain of every time, unfortunately, you’re a guard who dribbles the ball, so the chance of you not getting hit in the hand is zero,” he said.
He added that the surgery took “quite a while,” which explains why Hill has been unable to take the court in two months.
In Hill’s 14 games this season, he has averaged 11.8 points and 3.1 assists while shooting 50.8% from the field and 38.6% from 3.
Once he’s healthy, he can certainly help the Sixers as another ball handler and floor spacer. It’s just unclear when exactly that will be.
This post originally appeared on OKCThunderWire. Follow us on Facebook, and keep up with 76ers news at Sixers Wire!
