Indiana Pacers: 2017-18 player grades for Lance Stephenson

Strengths

Is his heyday, Lance was a triple-double threat on a nightly basis. While his offensive game hasn’t looked as good as it did then, he still knows how to rebound and pass the ball like nobody’s business.

Stephenson only averaged 2.9 dimes per contest this season, but he also logged 28 games with four or more assists, and 17 of those games were wins. Aside from distributing at a high clip for a wing player, he also has flash that fills seats and brings an intangible X-factor to the table.

Check out this insane no-look dime against the New Orleans Pelicans back in November:

Aside from passing, Lance has made a career on grabbing uncontested rebounds and running the fast break with that momentum. While Lance logged 5.2 boards per contest this season, he grabbed seven or more in 27 games, 15 of which were wins. He averaged more rebounds per game this season than the likes of Jayson Tatum, Tyreke Evans, Will Barton and James Johnson. Not bad for a bench player!

Finally, he is aggressive driving to the rack, which can be great when he fills in for injured players in starter’s minutes, but is just as useful to keep opposing reserves honest. This season, Stephenson averaged 5.5 drives to the rack per game, which is more than guys like T.J. Warren, Kyle Kuzma, Kyle Anderson, Derrick Rose and even Aaron Gordon.