Rodney Stuckey Goes to School
Chauncey’s backup still has some to learnBefore anointing Rodney Stuckey the second coming of Chauncey Billups, Pistons fans need to slow down. Though an argument could be made for Stuckey as a potential sixth man of the year, given Michael Curry’s commitment to get him “sixth starter” minutes, he’s lacking in the one area that makes Chauncey one of the five best starting point guards in the League. (Yes, he’s No. 4 - CP3, Deron Williams, Nash, Billups, Baron Davis. I don’t count Gil or AI as playing the point.)
During last night’s 86-64 shalacking at the hands of the Spurs, Stuckey (1-9 FG) and the rest of his squad couldn’t “throw a rock in the ocean.” (That’s actually what ‘Sheed said following his 0-7 FG evening.) Even if they were just ice cold during an exhibition, Tayshaun Prince’s remarks after the game seemed to point to a legit concern about how the Pistons play when Big Shot is on the bench.
“Our action is good. But with Chauncey (Billups) out, we had a tendency to do too much one-on-one stuff and not run our sets. We did what we’ve always had a tendency to do — when we got down we tried to get it all back by ourselves.”
Look back at last season during games in which Chauncey shot under 30% for a single night. Of the ten times that happened, Detroit still managed to go 6-4. And during those six wins, Billups finished with at least seven dimes in every one of them. Stuckey has miles of potential, but right now is still playing with a scorer’s mindset - even if those possessions end by him making a great pass. Under Chauncey’s continued tutelage, hopefully Stuck will develop that ‘point guard’s’ frame of mind, in which he’ll rely more on his teammates than himself.
Source: Detroit News
October 15th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Tha Boddy says:
I have no idea why people are giving this guy all this credit and he has not done anything worth while, hell that cat from the Lakers atleast gave us almost half a season
October 15th, 2008 at 8:57 am
kermit the washington says:
Anyone saying Stuckey ISN’T the second coming of Billups needs to slow down. This article didn’t really give me much except “hey, there was this one time where Stuckey didn’t play like Billups, and he shot too many shots and didn’t have a ‘point guard’s’ frame of mind…”
Stuck is definitely a younger, less experienced Billups, with the potential to be a SICK backup for him. And we Detroit fans are happy to have him on our team. Who ever said anything more than that?
October 15th, 2008 at 9:15 am
ALF says:
I’m not from Detroit, but have to agree with Kermit (#2)….Rodney has all the tools in place to be the next Billups.
What this article (and even Dime) fails to mention is that even Chauncey needed lots of time to get to where he is today….think back to his Boston/Minnisota/Denver and even Toronto years…..think Big Shot never learned a thing or too from the likes of Terrell Brandon?
Give Rodney some time folks…we’ve been more lenient on guys like Kwame/Darko………
October 15th, 2008 at 9:27 am
the rocket cat says:
I don’t like the Pistons and I don’t like Billups, but putting Deron Williams ahead of him and Nash is ridiculous.
October 15th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Sweet English says:
@ post 4 the rocket cat
Dude, go to the main page and scroll down a lil and you will see about 100 posts that think otherwise my freind. CP3, Deron and Nash are undisputably the best three points in the league. It’s just what order those three come in that is causing problems.
October 15th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Dagomar says:
Learning how to score is one thing; learning how to run a team? That takes time. That’s why Williams and Paul are so amazing: they are WAY ahead of the learning curve.
By the way, Parker has to be a top-five point.
October 15th, 2008 at 9:47 am
loganlight says:
“Stuckey has miles of potential, but right now is still playing with a scorer’s mindset - even if those possessions end by him making a great pass.”
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS POINT! I try to tell people all the time how AI and maybe even CP3 dribble the rubber off the ball going one on one and then kick the ball out for a basket… That is a scorers mentality creating a passing lane. Not a distributor.
Before I get torn to peices from the Chris Paul for President campaign, I DO think that CP is a detter distributor than scorer. But watch a full game one time and tell me that he’s not cutting into the lane looking for a floater or jump shot…
LL
October 15th, 2008 at 9:55 am
karizmatic says:
I wish people would give Tony Parker more props.
October 15th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Tyrone says:
Rodney Stuckey’s aight y’all, but just aight. Cat’s been getting all kinds of major hype from them Detroit media, and he ain’t done shit to deserve that. Cat might be an average baller at best y’all.
True thugs never lie.
Tyrone
October 15th, 2008 at 9:58 am
YOUNGFED says:
I agree totally with Kermit and The Rocket cat. Stucky had one bad game as did the whole team. Hell our leading scorer was Will Bynum 10pts (WTF is he). Dime continues their proverbial bias against the Pistons. If you want the real scoop here it is.
http://www.freep.com/article/20081015/SPORTS03/810150426/1051
YOUNGFEDS WORD OF THE DAY: LMAO
Proverbial (pro·ver·bi·al) having become an object of common mention or reference.
October 15th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Sweet English says:
LOGANLIGHT YOU DICK HOW DARE YOU HAVE ANY KIND OF NEGATIVE OPINION REGARDING CHRIS PAUL??
Ha ha. i joke, i joke. I kid, I kid.
But is that neccassaraly(?) a bad thing? When you have court vision like CP3, it’s not as much score first mentaltiy as much as it is good decision making?
A drive to the basket can free up a lot of perimiter space for a quick pass. Dont get me wrong, i agree with you he is does pass a lot from the key, rather than the top of the three like a true ‘pass first’ point guard like Nash. But then Nash does the same, but Steve always makes it look like that drive and behind the back dish to Amare was exactly what he was intending to do….
I what you are saying about CP3 is true, but the fact that he often looks like he really is going for the bucket before dropping it off is more of a blessing than a curse. Cos if it looks like he’s going to the basket, he’s going to get attention on the inside.
October 15th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Lady Luck says:
I like Stuckey’s game. I think as he develops as a player he will continue to work on that part of his game. The great players continue to work, challeng themselves, and get better. They usually add something to their game each season. He seems to be a hard-worker, and a talented player. I think he’s got nice game.
We should be careful when we over-critique, he’s a young guy, give him time.
October 15th, 2008 at 10:36 am
Lady Luck says:
^^^^ challenge
October 15th, 2008 at 10:53 am
kermit the washington says:
@ Tyrone:
The praise that Stuck’s been getting (and this praise has been limited to comparing him to a young Billups, what’s the big deal?) is based on his showing in the playoffs, in particular the Orlando series when Chauncey went down and Stuck was given the keys for a couple games. He straight up led the Pistons to the win in those games, and was CLUTCH as all heck in crunchtime. The moves, the strength…he looked like a dark Billups with hair.
October 15th, 2008 at 10:55 am
kermit the washington says:
and why does the name of this article keep changing?? lol
October 15th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Diego says:
Tony Parker should be considered top five point guard over Billups. Chris Paul and Deron definitely there too. Parker has won several chips (3? 4?); finals MVP at least once; and he is only 26?!
Before you tell me San Antonio has been loaded, everyone posting here seems to think that Detroit has the next best talent to the Dream Team and that Sheed is the top power forward in the game, so Chauncey hasn’t exactly been captaining a crewless ship.
HOW in the world does Chauncey rank above Parker? (I admit Parker may be a score-first point guard, but so what, if it works?)
October 15th, 2008 at 11:09 am
johnny says:
That game last night was pathetic. No Billups, but no Tony or Manu either and even Fin was out for good measure.
What a horrible freakin nightmare of a game.
Good news: Will Bynum might be one of the league’s better 3rd-stringers. And, Walter Sharpe looked aggressive, so he might make some noise in the D-League if they trust him enough with a bus ticket.
October 15th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
Baron Davis is one of my favorite players but I don’t think he cracks the top 5 point guards. It’s hard to say exactly what the top 5 point guards heirarchy is but it definitely includes Paul, Deron, Nash, Billups and Parker.
October 15th, 2008 at 11:45 am
loganlight says:
@Sweet English
I agree that the end result is good. It’s not a bad thing at all… but is it any different then what AI was doing 8 years ago? That’s where my question comes into play. People were all over AI for dribbling too much, for looking for his shot and such… but he was getting open buckets for his teammates. CP3 does just about the same thing and all of a sudden he is the best PG to walk the planet.
Not hating. Just wanting credit to go where it is needed.
LL
October 15th, 2008 at 11:46 am
YOUNGFED says:
@Johnny
Joe Dumars has already said Walter Sharpe will not be playing in the D-League. He’s too good.
October 15th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
@ AK–
How can you rank Baron Davis above TP? On what merits do you base this? That Baron shoots more, can dunk the ball, is stronger, more athletic? I’m just curious cause last time I checked TP had more rings, more finals MVP, more finals appearances more playoff appearances and yes even his wife is HOT! So in every category TP has been more successful than Baron, and now Baron plays for the Clippers.
October 15th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
I still like the vets and say Chris Paul and Deron are too young to be called the best points.
I think it goes:
1) Nash
2) TP
3) Chris Paul
4) D Will
5) J Kidd
October 15th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Three Stacks says:
I don’t understand what’s so similar about Stuckey and Billups’ games. Maybe Stuckey will develop one later on, but he doesn’t nearly have the range or strength of Chauncey.
Stuckey is more of a drive-and-kick type player, no? And Billups is a pick-and-roll, post-up type? From what I remember, Stuckey plays at a much quicker tempo.
And everyone seems to forget that Billups is the only All-NBA caliber defender in that list of top PGs, which is what makes him so valuable.
October 15th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
doc says:
TP gets knocked because a lot of people discredit his rings because of you know who.Im consistent though.Just like I wont call him a franchise player I wont call none of the big 3 besides Garnett one either.But Stuckey is getting a lot of hype for scoring on Jameer Nelson for 2 games.
October 15th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
tim says:
Chauncey is better than Parker because he’s a better defender…why does noone look at defense when comparing players? And I don’t mean steals…
And Stuckey is not average at best…He kept the Pistons in some of them Boston games while noone else showed up…AND HE MISSED THE FIRST 25 GAMES OF HIS ROOKIE YEAR. yea he’s young, but give him time and he’ll have his own signature Adidas soon…he’s quick, strong and he’s 6′5″ good luck with any other point guards playing him.
and I know it wasn’t broadcast much, but everyone at USA Basketball was praising him during his time on the Select Squad that scrimmaged the A team this summer…