Will the new Lance Stephenson be as good as the old?

Lance Stephenson was an All-Star snub in 2014. He put up impressive averages and had 5 triple-doubles. Can he come close to replicating that season in 2016-2017?

Like Steve Kerr said during the 2013 NBA Playoffs, Lance Stephenson is capable of just about anything.

Is he capable of flirting with averages of 14 points, seven rebounds and nearly five assists like he did in 2013-2014?

I think he just might be. Here’s why.

Playing Point Guard

Lance Stephenson is a guy who’s capable of playing multiple positions. He’s primarily a shooting guard, but he plays just as well as the point guard. Kevin Pritchard recently talked about how the Indiana Pacers plan on playing him at point a lot more next season.

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Playing at point guard means you’re going to be making a lot of plays for others. Stephenson is a great passer. He probably won’t start at point guard, but he’ll see plenty of minutes at that position. He should be able to average between four and five assists, depending on the minutes he gets. Whether it’s in the pick-and-roll, penetrating and kicking or just random basket cuts, Lance will find the open man. In fact, Lance averaged four assists as a Pacer this season, despite playing a bench role.

Scoring

As a starter, I believe Lance Stephenson can give you the 13-15 points per game. Remember, Paul George and Myles Turner are both on the roster. Lance isn’t the top option. When called upon, though, he delivers

For some reason, Lance shoots 3-pointers so much better as a Pacer. He shot about 39 percent in the 2017 playoffs, on 4.5 attempts per game. During the season, he shot 62.5 percent as a member of the Pacers. He can knock down 3-pointers, especially if he spends the summer working on his range.

A good thing about Lance is that he doesn’t settle. Sure, if you leave him wide open like the Cleveland Cavaliers did in the playoffs, he’s going to shoot the shot. But Lance attacks the rim at will and uses his strength to his advantage to finish strong.

Rebounding

Rebounding is still a strength of Lance Stephenson’s. In 26.8 minutes per game during the 2017 playoffs, Stephenson averaged 5.3 rebounds per game. During his previous two postseason runs with Indiana, Lance averaged over seven rebounds per game. He played over 36 minutes per game, though. If Lance got more minutes during this year’s run, he probably would have been in the seven to eight range.

Opportunity

Lance Stephenson very well could open the season as Indiana’s starting shooting guard, so the opportunity will be there. Based on how much better the Pacers were with him on the court this season, he should be seeing a good amount of playing time. It’s all about the opportunity.

The Indiana Pacers’ future as a team is a question mark, but one thing Pacers fans can be excited about is Born Ready.

Next: Free Agency Wish List: J.J. Redick

It’s always so much more fun when he’s on the court. He and the Pacers are just meant to be.