The Cleveland Cavaliers were back on the practice court Tuesday morning in preparation for Wednesday night’s Game 5 matchup against the Indiana Pacers. As most hoops fans know, this series is now tied at two games apiece, which means it’s all hands on deck, as they say. However, it sounds like the Cavs could be without the services of George Hill.
Hill, now 31 years of age, has been dealing with back spasms. In fact, the savvy veteran was held out of Game 3 due to the ailment. MRI scans taken on April 22 came back with negative results, but Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue decided to hold Hill out of Game 4 for precautionary measures. Jose Calderon was given a starting nod in Hill’s absence.
According to a report from Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, Hill is listed as questionable for Game 5, though he was on the court for portions of Tuesday’s shootaround.
Hill is a solid on-ball defender with an accurate shot from the corner store. The former 26th overall pick made 24 appearances with the Cavs during their 2017-18 regular season campaign, averaging 9.4 points on 44.4 percent shooting from the field (35.1 percent from beyond the arc), 2.8 assists, 2.7 rebounds and just under one steal (0.9) in 27.9 minutes per.
If Hill is indeed a no-go for Game 5, coach Lue will likely call on Calderon again. Players like Jordan Clarkson, Kyle Korver and J.R. Smith could also see an uptick in their minutes. However, coach Lue stated that Hill would start if he is cleared to play.
Wednesday night’s Game 5 tilt is set to tip inside Quicken Loans Arena at 7:00 p.m. EST with TNT, FOX Sports Ohio and FOX Sports Indiana having live broadcast coverage.