In case you haven’t been paying attention as of late, Rodney Stuckey is playing out of his mind at the moment.
(CUE THE MUSIC!)
Through the last 10 games he’s been averaging 19.2 points a game while shooting 52.2% from the field. It is pretty obvious that his numbers are up, but let’s take a deeper dive to see exactly what’s going on when Stuckey steps off the bench.
We’ll be measuring Rodney Stuckey’s last 10 games against his season as a whole.
Usage Rate: 27.6%⬆ (Season Average: 26.2%)
This isn’t a bad thing that his usage rate is slightly up. In fact it is the opposite. Stuckey is barely seeing the ball more than he’s used to, but he’s shooting almost seven percentage points higher than his season average. This isn’t a matter of volume shooting — this is just Stuckey taking advantage of the opportunities he has.
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Stuckey had already been having a good year replacing much of Lance Stephenson’s production. But once George Hill returned he slid back into his more natural role and has thrived under it. He was doing fine as a starter, but he’s been thriving as of late coming off the bench. When he’s on fire, the rest of the line-up don’t mind acquiescing to the hot-hand.
Shot Distance: 14.3 feet⬆(Season Average: 12.7 feet)
This is no surprise when you notice Rodney Stuckey’s 3-point attempts per a game are up from 1.8 to 3.5 over the past 10 games. That’s perfectly fine when your shooting percentage from beyond the arc has gone from 40.4% to 54.4%. George Hill came back 19 games ago and returned to the starting line up 14 games ago on Feb. 4. As mentioned, that has allowed other players to return to more natural positions and roles, but Stuckey is playing like a 6th Man of the Year right now. One surprising thing looking at his shot log is there is virtually no difference before and after in his defender’s distance when he takes a shot (3.84 vs 3.83).
Stuckey is working out to be the ideal type of player coming off the bench. He’s got talent enough to start, but when he’s playing with a few of the starters and controlling the reserves, he is in an entirely different zone. Before George Hill’s return he was needed to cut to the basket or at least try to cause some sort of havoc to allow other players to get into their comfort zones. He has played more as a shooting guard this season (85% of the time) to point guard (13%), and he’s shown he needs to be shooting more than distributing. He’s still comfortable shooting from mid-range, but he’s adjusting well to backing up beyond the arc.
Field Goals Made Assisted: 49.3%⬆(Season Average: 45.8%)
There is only a small jump here, but none the less important. In the games before George Hill’s return, Rodney Stuckey was needed to create plays or at least have some sort of action to set things in motion. Now he has the ability to spread the floor more and get away from mid-range shots, which have been his bread and butter for most of his career. Interestingly enough, the 3-pointers he’s been making are coming less off assists than they used to, down from 77.5% assisted to 73.7%. I don’t think that means too much as he’s still obviously working in concert with his teammates, and even more than usual when you look at the overall numbers.
Can This trend Last?
Probably not. You just assume Rodney Stuckey will eventually regress back to his season averages, which are still strong.
That said, there are a few X-factors coming up. Depending on when Paul George returns, Stuckey and the second until will be playing with him and Solomon Hill more often.
Going off the past and how Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel has worked injured players back into the starting line-up, we can expect Paul George to start out playing with the backups before replacing Solomon Hill as the small forward. Stuckey may have to pass the ball to Paul George more, and understandably so, when he returns, but once Solomon Hill drops down into the reserves Stuckey will likely be back into a similar role that he is now.
Solomon Hill is still figuring himself out a little bit, but all the minutes as a starter this year will pay dividends in the future. He hasn’t been holding Indiana back as they’ve won 12 of their last 14 games.
But a second unit comprised of C.J. Watson, Stuckey, Solomon Hill, and a mix of C.J. Miles, Luis Scola, LaVoy Allen, and Ian Mahinmi doesn’t sound like a bad plan at all — much less with the way Stuckey is playing right now.
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