What is the next step that second-year Indiana Pacers’ small forward Solomon Hill needs to make?

Solomon Hill was selected with the 23rd overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, and it was a shock to quite a few Indiana Pacers’ fans. There were other options that were being talked about much more than Hill, and a few of those players were Tim Hardaway Jr., Rudy Gobert and even Jamaal Franklin to a point.

Even though fans wanted another player, Larry Bird picked the four-year small forward out of Arizona. Many were skeptical of the selection and thought that there would have been an opportunity to trade back and snag Hill in the second round. Despite all of the concerns from fans and analysts, Bird has been proven right with the improved play that Hill has shown in his sophomore season.

During his rookie season, Hill only played in 28 games and averaged just 8.1 minutes per game in those appearances. This season, Hill has played in 77 games and started in 73 of those contests. His role has taken a huge leap due to Indiana losing Lance Stephenson to the Charlotte Hornets in free agency and Paul George’s freak injury.

Hill has averaged 9.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game this season. His shooting percentages have been a bit low at just 39.6 percent from the floor overall and 32.7 percent from behind the three-point arc.

There are a few different areas that Hill will need to improve before he takes the next step as a player. Most of the work that he needs to do is on the offensive end of the floor, and it is all about consistency.

One of the main areas of Hill’s game that needs to be improved is his shooting. As you can tell from his basic shooting percentages, he simply hasn’t been as good on the offensive end of the court as the Pacers need him to be. Let’s take a deeper look into his shooting percentages and where the root of the issue is.

Throughout his second season, Hill has been shooting the basketball extremely poorly. He has shot just 47.4 percent from the field when he takes it to the rim, but that percentage drops down to 36.7 percent when he moves out to the 5-9 foot range. Backing up even further it continues to drop to 36.6 percent from 10-14 feet, 36.1 percent from 15-19 feet, 34.5 percent from 20-24 feet and finally 31.3 percent from 25-29 feet.

His percentages place him among the bottom feeders of the NBA as far as second-year forwards are concerned, and is trailed by only Brandon Davies in his percentage within five feet of the rim. That is a major concern for Hill moving forward, and he will need to work hard to turn that around next season.

Coming out of Arizona, Hill’s three-point shot didn’t look all that great. He had shown the ability to make them here and there, but it certainly wasn’t one of his strengths. Indiana knew that he wouldn’t be an excellent three-point shooter immediately, but he has improved his three-point percentage from 30.4 percent last season to 32.7 percent this year.

If you watch Solomon Hill, he's as much a coach on the floor as much as anyone. Not bad for a second year player. — Mark Montieth (@MarkMontieth) March 26, 2015

Another area that Hill will need to improve before he takes the next step offensively is his playmaking ability. The best scorers around the league are all capable of getting their teammates involved and making them better with their passing ability. Hill hasn’t shown much of an ability to make plays for his teammates, but that will come with more experience.

Defensively, Hill has stepped up in a big way this season with Paul George missing the majority of the season due to a broken leg. George is back now, but the effort that Hill put in on the defensive side of the basketball will not be forgotten. He has contributed 2.6 win shares this year, with the league leader being DeAndre Jordan at 5.09 in that category.

Obviously Hill isn’t the lock down defender that George has been in years past, but he was still the Pacers’ top wing defender. He has been able to hold opponents field goal percentages to 1.1 percent less per game than what other defenders around the league have done. It isn’t the most impressive stat, but it still shows that he is an above average defender.

Indiana is very excited about the future that Hill has now that he is beginning to unlock some his full potential.

Needless to say, the next step for Hill is simply to improve his consistency and focus on his offensive game. His defense could use a few tweaks here and there, but most of it has to do with inexperience and figuring out the speed and strength of the NBA. Stephenson leaving may very well work out in the Pacers favor if Hill can continue to flourish and reach his full potential.

All stats taken from NBA.com and Basketball Reference.