Rodney Stuckey assessment, to date (from January 2008)

even if stucky were a pg in college (i have virtually no idea, never heard of him before we talked about drafting him), most incoming pg's take time to develop.

look at jay william's rookie year for example. he was about as nba ready as it gets, and he wasnt exactly a world beater... chris pauls truly are the exception.

the comparison to wade is very apt. look at his rookie year. he didnt really emerge as a phenom til the 2nd half of the year. i suspect maybe by the end of this year, or going into next year, its going to get very tough to keep him off the court.

and i really dont get the flip comparison. from what ive seen, stucky plays a ton without the ball (kind of like he's learning both guard spots, awfully tough to do for a rookie). RS looks to me like Joe's best pick ever, which is saying something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glenn

Also, it was repeatedly stated by the organization (and their mouthpieces) that Stuckey is indeed a PG, and that he played it extensively in college. So we can't have it both ways, either we were misled/lied to, or he's not playing the PG position for the first time.

BTW, I'm not completely sold on Stuckey. I just think he's better than Flip Murray (then again, I'd rather play 4 on 5 than have Flip Murray in the lineup he's that much of a detriment) In fact I believe I made a statement that I wanted no part of stuckey come draft day. I don't like "tweener" guards that are best at getting to the bucket but don't have the hops to finish like a d-wade. I also don't like guys that play for mid-major schools and are only good enough to lead them to .500 records.

With that being said, he's quicker off the dribble than I thought and I'm willing to give him a chance. Then again, I'm not a big believer in Joe Dumars' ability to draft quality players anymore. It can't always be the coaches fault for not playing young guys. Maybe these young guys aren't good enough.

And we constantly get spoonfed misinformation by this organization such as when they try to tell us we're legit championship contenders with a bad coach and pretty good but not great players. If they are saying we are contenders then we as fans have the right to be critical. If they are saying we are playing for the future then I may decide to think differently.

And Flip Murray can't score, he just shoots a lot. Javis Hayes is slowly moving into this territory as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by geerussell

I'm sold. I don't remember ever being promised a superstar. He can be a success well short of that.

i ment to say this too. he doesnt have to be a "superstar" to be a success. i suspect he'll make it to an allstar game at some point, though.

pros:

lightning quick
tall for position
caveman length arms
already leading team in steals per game

cons
non i can see that arent correctable

dont worry, this was an A+ pick by joe.

I wish we could go back and see what half of you were saying about Tayshaun after 3 weeks played...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kstat

I wish we could go back and see what half of you were saying about Tayshaun after 3 weeks played...

I'm a little vague on that. As I recall, Prince wasn't hyped nearly as much as Stuckey but then the stakes were a lot lower too, the pistons weren't expected to make a ton of noise at the time.

I do remember that Prince was a bit wobbly as a rookie. He got some run in the early part of the season but after 30 games or so Carlisle pretty much threw him on the shelf and forgot about him all season until they were down 3-1 against Orlando.

Quote:

Originally Posted by geerussell

Flip and Joe certainly seem to be committed to doing everything possible to develop him.

And to me thats the defining factor. They weren't even this dedicated to Darko, which says something.

flashes of good things (quick first step, ability to absorb contact, gets steals, sweet passes), but there are plenty of rookie-type mistakes. enough mistakes to make me hold my judgement a little longer. i really wish he had the luxury of playing the entire season up to this point.

i think Stuckey's got it tough because he's trying to learn FlipS's offensive plays. most of the time i see Stuckey take it himself, is after the first few options have broken down. i'd like to see Stuckey given the green light to find his shot a little more. that will lead to defenses collapsing on him and he can find open guys.

i'd really, really, really, really, really like Stuckey to run more pick and roll plays. Unlike Chauncey, Stuckey seems to get rid of the ball quicker on the P/R, leading to open guys. Chauncey isn't a real great P/R PG, and i think our team would benefit from running the P/R play more often.

flip called stuckey the best pick n roll guard on our roster. i assumed he met defensively, but maybe offensively?

ill admit, ive only seen stuckey play a few minutes, but im not backing off my claims. dude is legit.

I think that Stuckey is still getting used to playing in the NBA. He seems to get a lot of shots blocked, and I think that's because in college he was able to get those shots off.

Stuckey seems poised and unselfish, with the ability to run the team. Dumars and Saunders are very high on him, so he will continue to see 15 to 25 minutes a night for the next couple of months, at least. He's a streaky shooter who at times makes poor decisions. He seems solid defensively, although not as good as Afflalo.

However, if Stuckey doesn't improve on his weaknesses over the course of this season, Hunter will be getting the backup G minutes. I hope that doesn't happen (I like Hunter as a spot player), but I definitely could see it.