Groin strain to keep Pacers' Hill out Tuesday

George Hill will miss his seventh consecutive game Tuesday when the Indiana Pacers host the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team announced. Hill hasn't played since the calender flipped to the new year due to a groin strain. 

It's been a frustrating season for the Pacers point guard, who has been limited to five games with various leg injuries. Knee and quadriceps issues forced him to miss the team's first 28 games of the season. 

Hill had an opportunity to take on more of a scoring role with star shooting guard Paul George sidelined for the year, but injuries have kept him off the court. 

Still, Hill's limited sample shows Pacers head coach Frank Vogel's willingness to have the seventh-year guard carry the offense. He has never had a usage rate exceed 20 percent in any year since breaking into the NBA during the 2008-09 season, but has a mark of 23.1 percent over his five games.

He's averaging 14.2 points - the next highest on the team is David West (12.7) - and shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from long range. 

Despite injuries to George and Hill, and West missing 15 games, the Pacers still have a legitimate playoff shot in the East thanks to having the conference's third-best defensive rating. They entered Monday with the No. 9 seed in the conference, trailing the Brooklyn Nets for the last playoff spot.