Vogel: George Hill still a couple weeks away

George Hill has been in street clothes since the preseason.

The Pacers eagerly await the return of their starting point guard, and the wait is going to continue.

George Hill is “still a couple of weeks away,” head coach Frank Vogel said Monday night during his pre-game availability before the Pacers faced the Atlanta Hawks.

The injury was initially diagnosed as a left knee contusion (and that’s still what his status reads on the team’s game notes), but Vogel stated ten days ago there was more to it.

Too much blood clouded the first MRI, and it was later determined that he suffered a tear to his left quad when he bumped legs with Minnesota guard Ricky Rubio in the preseason.

While out, Hill has ran on the team’s underwater treadmill, lifted weights, and worked on his ball handling.

“He’s picking up a little bit of activity this week but it’s not going to be in practice,” Vogel said. “Hopefully in the non-contact portion of practice maybe towards the end of the week.”

The coaches and training staff want to see him take part in at least a few practices before making his season debut. For now, there is no target date for him to start practicing with the team.

“We want him to be at or near 100 percent, and in shape enough to be effective,” Vogel added.