There's no surprise that Stuckey is being recognized not only in Piston Land but throughout the league. There's a reason why Pistons In LA website chose to have Stuckey's picture as a background and theme, and that reason is simply a reminder of "Didn't I tell you he's amazing?!" From the moment Joe Dumars picked him in the draft, I saw flashes of him becoming a great NBA player when he was in college. With a talent like that and ended up landing in one of the most well rounded team effort oriented in the NBA is one of the best thing that happened to him and to Detroit.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – An award usually passed back and forth among LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and a select few others has been claimed by someone knocking on the door to their exclusive club: Rodney Stuckey.
Stuckey led the Pistons to a perfect 4-0 week despite the absence of Rip Hamilton in all of them and Rasheed Wallace in nearly three full games, averaging 23 points, 5.3 assists and 4.5 rebounds a game.
Since Stuckey moved into the starting lineup on Dec. 17, the Pistons are 10-3 and have won seven straight games – a streak that began with a win over Chicago in which Stuckey erupted for 40 points. Throw in Stuckey’s three other starts this season and the Pistons are 13-3 in those games.
Stuckey led the Pistons to a perfect 4-0 week despite the absence of Rip Hamilton in all of them and Rasheed Wallace in nearly three full games, averaging 23 points, 5.3 assists and 4.5 rebounds a game.
Since Stuckey moved into the starting lineup on Dec. 17, the Pistons are 10-3 and have won seven straight games – a streak that began with a win over Chicago in which Stuckey erupted for 40 points. Throw in Stuckey’s three other starts this season and the Pistons are 13-3 in those games.
But let’s not focus on scoring. Stuckey is the best distributor of the ball on this Pistons team, and I believe what allows him to be such a great passer is his patience - he’s very similar to Chauncey in that he’ll hold onto the ball for a second or two longer than he probably needs to, sizing up the play before choosing the best option. It’s a measured change from the Rodney Stuckey of last season who at times, was trying to play at 100 miles per hour. It’s no coincidence a few of Chauncey’s traits have rubbed off on him (more on that later) after playing with him for over a year, but it is rare to see a second year player with the smarts and poise to actually execute it. For the record, Stuckey is 15th in the league in assists per 48 minutes.
Defensively Stuckey is no slouch either. He is usually bigger and stronger than his point guard counterparts (just like Chauncey was) and he’s quick and athletic which all makes it very hard for his opponent to score on him. He completely shutdown Beno Udrih yesterday - the guy averages over 11 points a game but against Stuck he didn’t score a single bucket. Stuckey gets in the passing lanes quite often which goes to show how well he reads the play for a young guy. Offense comes pretty naturally to Stuckey, but with more starting minutes his defense will really improve.
Defensively Stuckey is no slouch either. He is usually bigger and stronger than his point guard counterparts (just like Chauncey was) and he’s quick and athletic which all makes it very hard for his opponent to score on him. He completely shutdown Beno Udrih yesterday - the guy averages over 11 points a game but against Stuck he didn’t score a single bucket. Stuckey gets in the passing lanes quite often which goes to show how well he reads the play for a young guy. Offense comes pretty naturally to Stuckey, but with more starting minutes his defense will really improve.
Wait a minute!!! Aren't these All Star players? Kobe, Lebron, Dwade, Dirk, Timmy, CP3, Chauncey were just some of the players who became player of the week....Then Stuckey, only in his second year!!!? Surprise? No way! Not in Pistons In LA at least and I'm sure not in Piston Land.
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