You can’t take Born Ready out of Lance Stephenson
By Ben Gibson
New Orleans Pelican season-ticket holder and comedian Chris Trew gives us a look at how Lance Stephenson operates when the Indiana Pacers hit the road.
The world needs more people like Chris Trew. Not only is he a wrestling fan, he is a New Orleans Pelicans season ticket holder and comedian that sits behind the opponent’s bench. From his perch, Trew watches the NBA’s visiting teams and reports back on what he sees on the visitor’s bench. Thankfully for us, last week he had his eye on Lance Stephenson and the Indiana Pacers.
While his observations on Trevor Booker and Al Jefferson are worth clicking over right now and reading his work over on UpRoxx by themselves — seriously, go check him out — we’re here to talk about Born Ready today.
When he wears an Indiana Pacers jersey — especially at home — Stephenson is a different player. But even when Stephenson is on the road, some things don’t change. Part of Trew’s report for last week’s loss confirms as much.
"After an impressive behind-the-back pass to an open Darren Collison, Lance was visibly frustrated he didn’t take the shot, costing Stephenson a highlight reel assistFrom the bench Lance screamed “leave him open” every time Rajon Rondo touched the ball. This seemed to work, as Rondo was looking for his shot more often than usual, likely pre-planning his response to Lance."
Stephenson isn’t as bad as he once was about hunting stats, but he still is guilty of wanting to pad them from time to time.
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Being frustrated at one of the NBA’s most efficient point guards for not taking a shot is a certain level of petty that might be a bigger deal if the team’s chemistry wasn’t so good this season. Lance Stephenson will always be Born Ready and Born Ready will always hunt for stats.
That criticism aside, it’s easy to forget Stephenson isn’t a one-trick pony trying to fill up the box score. While he is guilty of getting lost on defense at times, the way he irritates opponents is all but legendary at this point.
It isn’t surprising to see Trew say Rajon Rondo wasn’t playing his normal game as the veteran guard reacted to Stephenson’s taunts by looking for his shots more often. Rondo didn’t take as many shots as usual, but his 1 for 6 performance shooting and six assists rank toward the bottom for Rajon on the season. It seems the Pelicans guard wasn’t always looking for those passes for assists nor was he making the few attempts he took.
If you let him, Lance will take you out of your comfort zone, and that’s the positive side of Born Ready.
Stephenson’s personality cuts both ways. It can get the Pacers into trouble when he lets his emotions take hold at the wrong times, but as we saw last season, he provides a spark to Indiana. Even when the team was falling apart, Stephenson’s return to the team helped push the Pacers into a playoff spot.
His scoring is absolutely necessary at times this season and those assists he hunts for can leave a defense helpless to stop the Pacers’ offense. His physical play punishes opponents even if it causes him to pick up fouls here and there. You take the good and the bad with Lance, and that’s why the fans love him.
Lance Stephenson will always be Born Ready, and the Indiana Pacers wouldn’t want it any other way.