Local standout Rodney Stuckey reaching his NBA potential

PORTLAND — Something about the way Rodney Stuckey carries himself let his employers know he was ready for more responsibility after only a year with the Detroit Pistons.

Scott Perry, the Pistons' vice president of basketball operations, can't quite put his finger on that indefinable character trait.

"These things aren't an exact science," Perry said. "Sometimes you just get a feeling about someone."

Two months ago, the Pistons had a feeling that it was time to part ways with Chauncey Billups, the MVP of the 2004 NBA Finals, a player who led them to a championship. Detroit sent the three-time All-Star point guard to Denver in exchange for Allen Iverson.

Many league observers panned the move, believing Iverson, who ranks 17th on the NBA's all-time scoring list, was brought in to run the team.

The Pistons, however, knew better and entrusted the point-guard position and stewardship of the franchise to Stuckey, a 6-foot-5, second-year player from Eastern Washington and Kentwood High School who has flourished since being inserted in the starting lineup Dec. 9.

With Stuckey running the show since, Detroit is 10-4 and has won seven of its past eight games after falling 84-83 to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night at the Rose Garden.

Stuckey had hoped to play against Seattle native Brandon Roy, but Roy sat out because of a sore hamstring. Stuckey had his hands full against Rudy Fernandez, who forced him into six turnovers. Stuckey also had 13 points, seven assists and three rebounds.

The defeat snapped a seven-game winning streak, which began with Stuckey's 40-point night against Chicago two days before Christmas. During the streak, he averaged 22.8 points, compared to his average of 13.5 for the season.

The Pistons knew they were getting a good player when they selected Stuckey 15th in the 2007 draft, but they had no idea he would be so good, so soon.

"He's ahead of schedule because we made the trade with Chauncey," coach Michael Curry said. "If he had backed Chauncey up all year, I don't think he would have quite reached his potential because you can get better, but you actually need to be out on that court and picking up that experience of playing against the top-notch point guards."

Stuckey made believers of the Pistons when he filled in admirably for an injured Billups and helped Detroit to two wins against Orlando in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year. His playoff performance accelerated the Pistons' plans for him and greased the exit for Billups, an 11-year veteran.

"I don't think about those comparisons," Stuckey said. "I've got to think about being out there on the court and what I've got to do to help my team win. I believe I'm a good player, so none of this is a surprise to me. I belong here."

Spend time with Stuckey and you get the feeling the 22-year-old is remarkably at ease with his new role as team leader. He said the toughest thing about his job is facilitating shots between Iverson, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince, and deciding when he should shoot.

"We've got some scorers that want that basketball and some strong personalities, and I thought early on they were like wolves going to him and trying to get the basketball, but he backed them off," Curry said. "I sit with him a lot of times and go over sets that I think are good for the team that we're playing so that he can call a lot of his plays.

"He calls pretty much all the plays. I may call less than 10 plays unless it's out of a timeout, and that's a lot for a young guard."

When told of the compliment, Stuckey shrugged as he does with most almost every triumph and tragedy he has faced.

On winning his first Eastern Conference player of the week award earlier this week, he said: "It's just one. I got to keep working hard. That's it. That's my focus. If I keep working hard, a lot more things will be coming my way."

On Detroit's recent seven-game winning streak, he said: "The more we practice, the better we'll get."

His least favorite subject to discuss is himself, although he'll talk about his checkered past, which includes an absentee father, the shooting death of his older brother and academic problems in high school that forced him to sit out his freshman season at Eastern Washington.

"All of those things in the past, they made me who I am today," Stuckey said. "I don't try to run from that or hide it. Why hide it? That's me. Those things made me stronger. I don't go around talking about that stuff, but if people ask me about it, I'm good."

Stuckey ends most conversations with those two words: "I'm good," perhaps affirming a secret that the rest of the NBA is beginning to understand.

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com