The Indiana Pacers lost a tough game on Wednesday night to the Boston Celtics to drop their record to 22-17. The Pacers played this game without backup guard Rodney Stuckey as he was dealing with a foot injury, and it seems as though the injury is a bit more serious than expected. Stuckey will miss at least the next two weeks, according to NBA.com.
Stuckey injured his foot in Tuesday night's game against the Phoenix Suns after only playing four minutes. At first he was considered questionable to return, but less than an hour later the Pacers ruled him out. Stuckey has been dealing with this foot injury for a while and has been playing through it, but now it is time for him to rest it as it was revealed that he has both a sprain and a bone bruise in his right foot.
The current plan for the Pacers is to hold Stuckey out for two weeks, and when those two weeks are up they will re-evaluate him. This is a big loss for Indiana because Stuckey has been big for them off the bench, and with the Eastern Conference so bunched up every game matters a lot. The Pacers are currently in the five spot in the East, but they are only two games ahead of the team in the ninth spot, Boston.
As mentioned before, Stuckey does not start for the Pacers but he does play big minutes off the bench. Through 33 games Stuckey is averaging 9.8 points, 3.4 rebound and 2.6 assists in 25 minutes per game. The 29-year-old guard hasn't shot the ball great this season (41 percent from the field and 21 percent from three), but he has spent some time as the backup point guard behind George Hill.
The Pacers don't have a true backup point guard, as Hill is the only real point guard on the roster, so Stuckey was filling that role. While Stuckey is out, Monta Ellis will likely get more time at the point, and Joseph Young might also see some minutes. Young has been out of the rotation all year but may get an opportunity to show what he can do now.
