Who Should Be the Indiana Pacers Starting Shooting Guard?
By Ben Gibson
Get Stuckey
By Will Furr
Monta “Have it all” Ellis is one of the premier 2nd round picks in NBA history.
His scoring ability, fearlessness, and toughness are widely recognized and respected, and by most accounts, he’s been a great teammate during his time as an Indiana Pacer. Ellis has had a great career, and should have plenty left in the tank. He may have lost a step, but it would be foolish to think he’s finished in the NBA.
It’s much less foolish to think his time as a starter for Indiana (and maybe as a Pacer in general) is coming to an end, or should be coming to an end.
Monta has been absolutely torched by seemingly any and every starting 2 guard this season. From otherworldly scorers like Klay Thompson and C.J. McCollum to middling guys like Wes Matthews and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, teams have come out with the obvious intent of targeting Monta, and it’s worked time and time again. Ellis’s defensive shortcomings have put the Pacers in a hole early on this season, and have left the team fighting uphill battles against scorers who have found the range and gotten comfortable.
It’s much less foolish to think his time as a starter for Indiana (and maybe as a Pacer in general) is coming to an end, or should be coming to an end.
Unless you’re playing Paul George at shooting guard, the Pacers don’t have anything close to a defensive stopper at the 2. Monta Ellis, Rodney Stuckey, Glenn Robinson III, and C.J. Miles all have varying degrees of defensive warts, but Ellis is possibly the worst of all four. He gets easily screened off his man, both on and off the ball, and his lack of size (he’s generously listed at 6’3) means that if he’s even a beat late, it’s difficult for him to challenge the shot of most shooting guards in the league. In an ideal Pacers world, C.J. Miles starts and provides size and shooting while his clone comes off the bench.
Unfortunately, the Pacers don’t have a clone of Miles.Enter: Rodney Stuckey.
Enter: Rodney Stuckey.
Stuckey and Ellis are similar players (the problem of their overlap has been discussed time and again, by us here at 8 points 9 seconds, by our friends on the Miller Time Podcast, and many, many other places). This fact, while causing roster problems in general, provides one benefit: Swapping Rodney Stuckey in for Monta Ellis doesn’t force a huge shift in philosophy. Both are (theoretically) attacking guards. They make their money getting to the bucket, getting to the line, and punishing teams who leave them from the midrange.
Swapping them doesn’t cause a schematic shift, but there is some recent evidence to support it.
Stuckey’s size (listed as 2 inches taller and 25 pounds heavier) is more helpful against most shooting guards. He has played the full 4th quarter in the Pacers last 3 games, and the Pacers are +28 during those 36 minutes, including two comeback wins. Stuckey doesn’t provide the starters much 3-point shooting (he’s even worse than Ellis this year), and he’s struggled with consistency throughout his long career, but the team has just looked better when he shares the floor with the starters.
In a season where the Pacers are barely holding at .500 and trying to convince Paul George that he can win a title here, that’s enough of an impetus to give it a try.