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Lance Stephenson Doesn’t Regret Decision to Leave Indiana

By Ben Gibson

Nov 19, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacer guardforward Solomon Hill (44) and center Roy Hibbert (55) guard Charlotte Hornets guard Lance Stephenson (1) in the second half. The Indiana Pacers won 88-86 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacer guardforward Solomon Hill (44) and center Roy Hibbert (55) guard Charlotte Hornets guard Lance Stephenson (1) in the second half. The Indiana Pacers won 88-86 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports /
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One of the bigger “What if’s” of the 2014-15 season has been “What if Lance Stephenson stayed with the Indiana Pacers?”

Indiana struggled with numerous injuries this season and Stephenson’s numbers with the Pacers had him on the verge of making the All-Star Game last year as he was a force to be reckoned with on both ends of the floor.

But Lance Stephenson told the Associated Press that despite his production with the Charlotte Hornets, he doesn’t regret leaving Indiana.

"“Not at all,” Stephenson said. “I love this system. I love my coaches. I love my teammates. Some people come into systems and fit right in. Some people it takes time. I feel like with me, I’m going to take time.”…“I think the biggest thing for him is he’s 23 and this is the first time he’s gone somewhere different,” Clifford said. “He’s played for the same team and same coach for four years with the same basic offensive and defensive structure.”Stephenson said he still believes he can turn things around in Charlotte, but said he just needs “that freedom to let me play through mistakes.”Stephenson’s numbers have fallen off in almost every category. He’s averaging 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game this season, down from 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists last season for the Indiana Pacers."

Stephenson was once a triple-double threat with the Indiana Pacers, but he’s struggling to get 10 points a game with the Hornets this season.

However, it isn’t surprising to hear him say this because there isn’t a good reason for him not to say he’s glad to be in Charlotte. Even if he did regret it, it wouldn’t help his current situation (or how fans perceive him) if he expressed his frustrations.

Even if he was in Indiana, there isn’t a guarantee that things would have been markedly better than they are now. While George Hill was more efficient shooting with Lance on the floor last season, its been obvious that George Hill has played better this season without having to share the ball as much with Stephenson. After coming back from his injuries, Hill is having a career year is points per a game and posting some of the best shooting percentages of his career this season.

On top of that, with Paul George out this season, comparing the numbers with and without Lance Stephenson is mostly a moot point. PG had a 28.3% usage rate last season (compare that to Hill’s 14.8 and Stephenson’s 19.4) so while George Hill’s usage rate is 25.1% this season, we don’t know if he’ll be able to touch the numbers he has now when he’ll be sharing the ball with Indiana’s franchise player.

I think it is fair to say Stephenson would have helped Indiana early in the season with West, Hill, and George all out of the line-up, but it is hard to say how much better this team may or may not have been with Born Ready in the line-up.

If we want a better answer to the question of whether Indiana is better off without Stephenson, we won’t know for sure until sometime in the 2015-16 season when Paul George is at 100%.

Next: 8p9s Roundtable: Will the Pacers Make the Playoffs?

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