George Hill and Rodney Stuckey Are Thriving While C.J. Watson Continues to Struggle
By William Furr
The Indiana Pacers went 2-2 in week 14. They beat the Orlando Magic on the road and absolutely ripped the New York Knicks at home, but couldn’t hold off the Toronto Raptors and fell short in a big comeback attempt against the Sacramento Kings.
The week saw C.J. Miles return from injury, Lavoy Allen return to the rotation only to get hurt, and George Hill continue to be a positive force under a minutes restriction.
Let’s take a look at what we learned in week 14!
More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds
- 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
- Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
- 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
- 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
- Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?
George Hill’s Heath Is Key
Frank Vogel stayed true to his play to restrict George Hill’s minutes while he returns from injury. Hill played 20, 20, 12, and 22 minutes last week’s 4 games.
But while he only totaled 74 minutes between the four games, the Hometown Hero finished +40 for his time on the court, averaging 13 points and 3.3 assists against just 1 turnover per game.
Hill’s defense and calming presence on the court were huge for the Pacers, and they’ll need him to stay healthy and increase his minutes workload if they want to make a run and sneak into the playoffs with the 8th seed.
Rodney Stuckey Found His Groove
After an impressive start to the season, Rodney Stuckey spent the second quarter of the season struggling to make an impact. Stuckey played very well in three of the four games last week, however, averaging 19.7 points against the Magic, Raptors, and Knicks, and 15.3 for the week. He was a team high +21 against the Knicks, and finished +13 for the week despite laying a total egg against the Kings.
When he’s going, Rodney Stuckey brings a lot of things to the table that the Pacers just don’t have in anyone else: a bully game with the ability to get to the rim, get out on the break, and get the opposition in foul trouble.
What Stuckey adds is very “poor man Lance Stephenson” like, and the Pacers are better with that component in their offense. When Stuckey is disengaged, the Pacers can get mired down into a constant “walk the ball up the floor, run the same set, take a contested jumper” vicious cycle.
The Pacers aren’t good enough on offense to win many games like that, and they need to find a more consistent Rodney Stuckey to kick them into a higher gear.
C.J. Watson’s Struggles Continue
C.J. Watson has been keeping George Hill’s starting spot warm while Hill continues on his minutes restriction. Hill could be starting, but prefers to come off the bench while on his restriction so he can finish games out.
That is all well and good, but Watson is killing the Pacers currently.
He posted a team worst +/- in both of the Pacers losses last week, putting up a -22 against the Raptors and a -18 against the Kings. He had 7 turnovers in the 4 games, second highest on the Pacers (behind Rodney Stuckey), and shot only 35.3% from the field and 33.3% from behind the arc.
Some of this is surely due to the foot issues that he expects to linger all year. (He has been playing with metal plates on the bottom of his sneakers.)
And when he’s healthy, Watson brings a reliable presence in the second unit, providing floor spacing and veteran leadership. But of late, he is actively hurting the team when he’s on the floor at times, and the signs are not getting any more encouraging.
DAMO-NATION!!!
Damjan Rudez, once buried in the depth chart behind Chris Copeland and a host of others, looks to be adjusting to the NBA game. Damo unseated Cope a few weeks back, and hasn’t looked back since.
Last week, Damo shot 56.5% from the field, 47.1% from behind the arc, and finished +16 overall. Advanced statistics are still not kind to him; his PER is a through-the-basement low 7.4 (NBA average is around 15), and his estimated value over replacement player (VORP; a complicated mathematic attempt to estimate the number of points any given player will provide every 100 possessions versus a replacement level player) is actually a -.2, but he was undeniably huge against the Magic.
Time will tell whether Damo has what it takes to stick as a useful NBA player, but he’s certainly making headway. Rudez is turning into a pleasant surprise for those (like me) who watched him in the preseason and worried he might be a wasted signing.
The Indiana Pacers Week Ahead
Games: vs Detroit (2/4), vs Cleveland (2/6)
Prediction: Pacers go 1-1, beating a crestfallen Detroit Pistons team, and coming up short against the LeBron James led Cleveland Cavaliers
Last Week’s Prediction Results: 2-2
Season Long Prediction Results: 25-21
What to Watch For: Luis Scola, more crafty than 90% of the guys trying to guard him, making stronger and more athletic guys look silly… George Hill, attacking the basket, playing defense, and generally doing things on the basketball court that are wonderful to see… Other teams getting the idea and pressuring C.J. Watson every second he plays… Ian Mahinmi, making the most of his minutes while backing up the Big Fella, and playing excellent defense as always… Shayne Whittington, going from non-garbage time minutes, to the D-League, and back to being the odd man out… Lavoy Allen, looking to return from a minor knee injury after finding himself back in the rotation… Roy Hibbert, reminding us that he too has a bit of beast mode in him, and even throwing down some vicious dunks… Ian Mahinmi, shooting free throws at a positively Andris Biedrins rate (22.2% last week, 35.4% for the season)… Solomon Hill, once again looking confident behind the 3-point line (45.5% last week)… David West, looking a bit more aggressive and confident now that George Hill is back…