Rodney Stuckey's Return Significant To Indiana Pacers' Playoff Push
Guard Rodney Stuckey returns from missing 20 games, just in time to help the Indiana Pacers improve their hot run at the playoffs.
The Indiana Pacers finished off a wintry month of January with a hot record of 9-4. With the help of Paul George, Jeff Teague and sophomore sensation Myles Turner, the Pacers worked their way out of a losing record and up to sixth in the East, just two games out of third place.
Though they got help from key players, they also got help from the NBA schedule as well. Of the nine wins, eight of them came from teams with losing records. The only impressive win came against the third place Houston Rockets.
Already picking up their first win of February against the Orlando Magic, the rest of the month isn’t as favorable. Of 12 games, only four feature teams with losing records.
Although they have a rough stretch ahead, the team has clearly been playing well and Rodney Stuckey has returned.
Stuckey, who injured his hamstring, gave a little relief from the bench in his first game back.
Coming back from injury, of course, will cause some rust. Stuckey committed three turnovers and had a poor night of shooting. In his 13 minutes on the court, he only managed two field goals on six attempts.
The guard was a key asset before he was injured, due to the fact Indiana’s shooting guard depth includes two veterans. He will see an increase in minutes once he becomes more reliable and fits back into this offense.
Another key to the Pacers’ turnaround has been quality playing time from the bench. With guys like Al Jefferson, C.J. Miles and Glenn Robinson III providing much needed relief, Stuckey can find success on strict minutes pushing the pace off the bench.
Bringing Stuckey back also allows Indiana to push Monte Ellis over to the point guard position. This is important for two reasons. One, Jeff Teague is averaging nearly 33 minutes a game and needs quality relief. Two, the quality relief has been missing due to Aaron Brooks not playing well.
Once you get a healthy Stuckey back on efficient minutes, you allow Ellis to also run the pick-n-roll as he has been doing well, whether it’s George, Jefferson or Turner in the frontcourt .
Stuckey is one of the many veterans on this Indiana team who can still make a difference, as some clearly have been. Stuckey pushes the ball, plays well from midrange and gets to the foul line.
While only averaging 19.9 minutes a game this season, Stuckey has averaged 9.1 points per game and is putting up 3.5 free throw attempts on limited minutes.
The numbers may not be astronomical, but when you put it with productivity of the bench’s January numbers, it can help with the tough month of February and the rest of the season.
Stuckey has some new things on offense to learn since being gone, but being an experienced veteran, he should have no problem filling in the holes that can improve this rising Indiana team.
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