Age: 26
Years pro: 7
Status: Has two years remaining on his contract, the second a team option.
Key stats: Played in the final six regular season games for the Pacers and all four playoff games. Averaged 7.2 points in the regular season, with 4 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 22 minutes off the bench. Also played for New Orleans and Minnesota, and averaged 6.8 points overall for the season.
Such was Lance Stephenson's impact on the Pacers' season that it can be divided into two distinct segments: B.S. and A.S.
The Before Stephenson portion was frustrating and difficult to understand at times, a mixed bag of starts and stops that added up to a blob of meh. The After Stephenson fragment was scintillating and encouraging, a 10-game spree that was better than the record indicated.
The Pacers were in a desperate fight for a playoff berth when Stephenson signed on before their game at Cleveland on April 2, replacing the injured Rodney Stuckey. They lost that game in double overtime and his contributions in 18 minutes off the bench were modest – four points, three rebounds, three assists. But his mere presence, his raw energy made an obvious and drastic difference in the team's demeanor, enabling them to push the Cavs to the limit.
The Pacers won their final five regular season games, clinching the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a season-ending victory over Atlanta. The transformation was something unseen in franchise history, one player — a non-starter at that — injecting a badly-needed dose of adrenaline into his teammates and the fan base.
Stephenson received a standing ovation when he made his Bankers Life Fieldhouse debut late in the first quarter against Toronto. He scored 12 points in that game, all in the final quarter when he hit 5-of-6 shots, including two 3-pointers, to lead a 31-15 blitz that overcame a 15-point deficit. His last two points came on a meaningless layup in the final seconds, one that violated NBA protocol and angered the Raptors, but that was a footnote to the bigger story.
The more relevant moment came during the comeback when Jeff Teague, who rarely breaks from his calm demeanor on the court, celebrated an impressive one-on-one move, basket and foul by stomping his feet and screaming at the rafters. That summarized the impact Stephenson had on his teammates as well as anything.
"That's all six, man, that's all six," Paul George said, referring to Stephenson's jersey number. "It's contagious. When he gets into that mode and gets fired up, it's a contagious thing. It's natural. That's who Lance is and that's what this locker room lacked."
Stephenson's statistical impact was just as obvious. He averaged 16 points on 51 percent shooting during the playoff series with Cleveland, along with 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1 turnover in 26.8 minutes. All with an injured ankle that was about 75 percent of healthy.
Stephenson took defensive pressure off Paul George and ballhandling pressure off Teague. He also brought a random element to the offense, something coach Nate McMillan had been seeking all season. His ability to create offense from thin air prevented the off-balance, shot-clock-beating shots that had burdened the offense.
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"He junks up the game a little bit, which is good for us," Thad Young said.
Stephenson alone justifies optimism for next season, regardless of what changes are made over the summer. The Pacers were 5-5 after his arrival, but all five losses were to Cleveland and all by narrow margins. After the double-overtime regular season loss, in which his rust was obvious, the Pacers' four playoff losses came by a combined 16 points. They were swept, but they were hardly a mess.
If that team had been together throughout the regular season, the Pacers would have finished higher in the conference standings and not had to face the Cavs in the first round. If that team were to return next season — highly unlikely — it wouldn't have to sprint to the finish line to reach the postseason. Stephenson made that much difference.
"We just need that competitive edge," he said in the locker room after the Cavs closed out the Pacers. "We've got the guys, we just need that competitive edge. We've got to get mad. No one gets mad, no one puts that fight all the way into the game to win the game. I feel like that's all we need. We need guys who want to win."
Stephenson brings an edge. If new team president Kevin Pritchard can find one or two more like him, the Pacers could enter an entirely new period. One that lasts.
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