Pacers’ Rodney Stuckey Will Play Vs. Hornets

Oct 10, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers guard

(2) looks to pass the ball away from Orlando Magic guard

(10) in the second quarter of the game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Orlando Magic beat the Indiana Pacers by the score of 96-93. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Indiana Pacers will have shooting guard Rodney Stuckey back in the rotation against the Charlotte Hornets.

Rodney Stuckey has missed the last seven games for the Indiana Pacers and they have been missing his energy and offensive ability in the rotation. They received the good news that he will be good to play against the Charlotte Hornets tonight, but will probably remain on the minute count that he has been on throughout the season thus far.

Indiana has missed his offensive punch off of the bench and are happy to have him back against their former starting shooting guard Lance Stephenson. The Pacers originally made the decision to sign Stuckey as a reaction to Stephenson signing with the Hornets, which adds a bit more intrigue to watching how both players do. Stephenson has struggled with the Hornets so far this year, and Stuckey’s injury issues have forced him out for the Pacers.

Through his first four games on the floor with the Pacers, Stuckey averaged 8.8 points and 2.5 assists per game in just 13.3 minutes. He hasn’t been able to raise the minute count due to the nagging foot injury, but the Pacers need him for those 13-16 minutes per night that he was playing. Stuckey has provided excellent energy off of the bench, and has helped Indiana make multiple runs when in the game.

Frank Vogel is looking forward to seeing his injured players begin tricking back in, and this is a good step in the right direction. It’s still possible that the Pacers could see Stuckey go down yet again with the foot injury, but they are hoping that he has healed enough to be past that issue.

All of that being said, tonight is going to be a big game for both teams as they look to take another step back towards .500. Both teams are 4-7 on the season, and they are disappointed with the start. Charlotte is the favored team with all of the talent that they have on their roster, but the Pacers have fought extremely hard all season long and have knocked off both the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat who were also highly favored heading into those games.

Needless to say, having Stuckey back in the rotation tonight is a very big plus for the Pacers against Charlotte.