Rodney Stuckey re-assessment

[Hermy]

Watch some games. Our offense doesn't call for the PG to hold the ball and create randomly. It's predicated on movement and passing, though that has been skewed with Rip out. NO's offense is basically all about what Paul can create.

Did I say that RS would like like CP3 if he played for NO? Nope. Reading is fundamental, as P says.

Edit: Herm, by "watch some games" I meant watch some NO games. I know you watch plenty of Pistons games, and wasn't trying to stir the spot.

Gonna go out on a limb, there may be a different skill set with those 2 that allows Paul to look different.

[Atticus771]

Herm, doesn't mean RS isn't a PG though.

[Atticus771]

I hope everyone heard Kelser a moment ago.

[Koolaid]

Ben Gordon looked really good running the point tonight (yup you read that right). Stuckey was doing much better at finding open team mates and taking better shots when it wasn't all on him to start the offense. He's a very good team orientated SG/SF. Stuckey could be like Igouldala with better court vision.

[Hermy]

Herm, doesn't mean RS isn't a PG though.

No, many other things do however.

You can't propose something "He doesn't look like Chris Paul because of the system", then when I dismiss that say it's a bad argument. It's your argument.

It doesn't mean he IS a pg. That is what we are trying to prove here. The facts, as you say, can't be argued and up to this point his stats and performance as a 1 have been lacking.

[Pharaoh]

Atti - forget other systems, other players, other everythings.

Right here, right now on this team, in this system is Stuckey a PG?

Or is he really a SG that also happens to help initiate the offense?

[Fool]

When Will Rodney Stuckey Put It Together? For Pistons\' Sake, It Better Be Soon - Sean Deveney - The Baseline - Sporting News

When Will Rodney Stuckey Put It Together? For Pistons' Sake, It Better Be Soon

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Posted By Sean Deveney 1:44 AM

When backup Will Bynum looks at Stuckey, he sees “someone who will be the leader of this team for a long time.”

When Pistons coach John Kuester looks at Stuckey, he sees a player who “has the potential to be one of the best defensive guards I have been around, because he is so strong, he is athletic and he is willing to accept the challenges of the other great guards in the league.”

There is potential for Stuckey to be all of those things, and the Pistons have wagered that he will. But for now, let’s point out what Stuckey is—a big, athletic guard who hasn’t shown enough team-running instincts to be considered a point guard and hasn’t shown enough shooting range to be considered a shooting guard.

This is Rodney Stuckey’s third season, and already, it’s a make-or-break year for both him and the franchise.

Stuckey, for one, understands that. He entered this season without Chauncey Billups ahead of him or Allen Iverson next to him. He could lean on any number of excuses for his slow growth so far—point guard is a tough spot to learn, he had trouble finding a role among the team’s stars, he is on his third coach in three years—but, to his credit, he declines to do so.

“It’s nothing like that, it’s just about me doing it every night,” he said. “I just need to be consistent, and I think that’s been my biggest problem so far.”

At 6-5, with outstanding athleticism, there are times when Stuckey looks like a top-notch point guard. He has the size and speed to get into the lane and the strength to finish once there. But he is not an instinctive passer, and if he doesn’t show some improvement in running the offense this year, the Pistons will have to wonder whether he should be moved to shooting guard.

That would create a huge problem—the Pistons just gave a five-year, $55 million contract to Ben Gordon and awarded Richard Hamilton a three-year, $34 million extension last November. In other words, Detroit has too much money in their shooting guards for Stuckey not to be a point guard.

That’s what makes this such a huge season for Stuckey and the team. With most players, it’s clear by the end of the third year how his NBA career will shape up. Stuckey clearly had a long way to go when it comes to leading the Pistons. He is averaging a career-best 16.0 points and 5.9 rebounds, but he has struggled with shooting and turnovers, and the Pistons are among the lowest scoring teams in the league (in part because Tayshaun Prince and Hamilton have been injured).

Still, Detroit is sticking with Stuckey. “I tell you what is impressive,” Kuester said. “He knows exactly when he has done wrong, and he takes responsibility for it. He will look right over at me and say, ‘My bad.’ That’s refreshing.”

Perhaps that’s refreshing, and maybe Stuckey warrants extra leeway because of the difficulty of his position. But remember, he came out of college as a junior and turns 24 in April. His time for youthful mistakes is running short.

[Glenn]

Nice find.

[Fool]

Kstat and RugbyPike's board.

[Atticus771]

Atti - forget other systems, other players, other everythings.

Right here, right now on this team, in this system is Stuckey a PG?

Or is he really a SG that also happens to help initiate the offense?

Not hiding or anything, just been really busy the last few days.

IMO, Stuckey is a point guard and played like one the last game.

Will I admit that he doesn't always play like a good PG should? Heck yeah. I get just as disappointed with RS as the rest of you, because he's physically and mentally better than half the doofuses trying to check him on a nightly basis. When he doesn't try too hard and makes solid decisions, he's a darn good PG, as he was against Charlotte the other night.

And Herm, are you hinting that stats determine a player's position? It's too early to look at anyone's stats at this point, IMO, and draw any conclusions.

And if my CP3 comparison isn't valid for the sake of the argument, then I guess nobody is ever allowed to make any kind of player comparison in these types of discussions. All I said was Stuckey isn't going to look like CP3 -- I know he isn't as good, yes, but even if he was, the system is different than what NO runs. I think too many of y'all try basing the "RS isn't a PG" discussion on comparisons to other players and other players' stats, which isn't much different than what I'm doing.

I just don't see what you all see. I just hope I'm the one who is right in the end, and I know y'all do, too. It'd be the best thing for the team.