As the Pacers resume basketball activities following the longest All-Star break in league history, they will continue to be without their leader in toughness: Rodney Stuckey.
The Pacers’ sixth man went down with what was diagnosed as a right foot sprain and bone bruise on Jan. 12 in the early minutes against Phoenix.
![The Pacers won three of their last five games prior to All-Star break. [Photo: Frank McGrath]](https://i0.wp.com/www.vigilantsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2016-02-10-Frank-Vogel.jpg?resize=255%2C255)
The Pacers won three of their last five games prior to All-Star break. [Photo: Frank McGrath]
Stuckey completed non-contact work on Wednesday and Thursday and has been ruled out for the team’s three-game road trip to OKC, Orlando, and Miami.
“We’re going to list him as out for the next three games this trip, and probably out the two games following that,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said on Wednesday. “We want to be smart about increasing his activity at a rate that’s still safe.”
Stuckey, playing his second season in Indy, is one of eight Pacers to miss time this season due to an injury. He has, thus far, missed 20 games because of that right foot.
After Friday’s game in Oklahoma City, a team with the third-best record in The Association, he will have missed more games than anyone else on the team. A chip fracture in Myles Turner’s left (non-shooting) hand caused him to be sidelined for 20 games.
Stuckey is averaging 9.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game this season off the bench.
Meanwhile, Vogel and his staff took a look at a number of things during All-Star break, like how best to solidify their lineups and areas needing improvement.
“We have to take care of our turnover problem,” he said. “I think that’s probably the biggest offensive emphasis – to improve our passing and our ability to take care of the basketball.
“If you defend and rebound in this league, you’re going to win a lot of games.”
Indiana is 23rd in turnovers per game, giving it away an average of 14.8 times per game. Notably, Oklahoma City and Golden State both turn it over more, but they also have more possessions.
At the break, they are 28-25 which is good for sixth in the Eastern Conference. 29 games remain on their schedule, 15 at home and 14 on the road.
The final month of the season is favorable for them. 11 of the Pacers’ final 16 games are at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, including a stretch of 8 of 9 games at the end of March.
The team decided to hold steady at the trade deadline, and that’s the norm for this franchise. In recent years, they’ve made two minor deals — in 2012 for Leandro Barbosa and in 2014 for Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen.
The Pacers have got to finish games and get more consistent efforts from all around. They’ve gone back to their smashmouth style of play and it seems to be working. But they still have plenty of growth and maturity to do.
[Quotes via Pacers.com video]