George Hill Won't Play vs. Mavericks After Ankle Injury Diagnosed as Sprain

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without George Hill against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena after an MRI confirmed his injury was a sprained left ankle.

The team announced the news on Saturday in a press release to update the situation. He left Friday night's game against the New Orleans Pelicans because of the ankle injury.

Acquired in a midseason trade from the Sacramento Kings, Hill has been trying to settle into the Cavaliers' system. After averaging 10.3 points on 46.9 percent shooting with Sacramento, the veteran guard has averaged 9.9 points on 44.4 percent shooting in Cleveland. Perhaps more notably, his three-point percentage has dropped from 45.3 percent in 43 games with the Kings to just 35.1 percent in 22 games since changing uniforms.

At 46-30, Cleveland finds itself in a battle with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Indiana Pacers for the third seed in the Eastern Conference. However, seeding means very little to a team with LeBron James.

The Cavaliers are looking to make their fourth consecutive Finals and know the season will be defined by what they do in the playoffs. The expectations have been that way since the season opener, although the roster has undergone a drastic overhaul since October.

Getting Hill healthy for a postseason run is key for Cleveland, even if it means he misses a few games down the stretch. Getting the new players, like Hill, as much experience playing with Kevin Love as possible would undoubtedly be beneficial, but making sure all of its players are as healthy as possible has to be top priority.