Heading into a lengthy four-game West Coast road trip which includes a stop in Golden State to face the nearly unbeatable Warriors, the Indiana Pacers will be without reserve guard Rodney Stuckey.
Stuckey, who backs up starter Monta Ellis at the shooting guard position, suffered a sprain and a bone bruise in his right food in the Pacers' 116-97 win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night and is expected to miss the next two weeks.
The prognosis for the eight-year veteran came following a re-evaluation of the right foot on Thursday in Indianapolis after the Pacers 103-94 loss to the Boston Celtics in Beantown on Wednesday night, with team doctors recommending that he take time for his foot to recover.
Indiana currently sits in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a 22-17 record. A winning streak could rapidly boost the Pacers up to the upper echelon of the conference as they sit just 2.5 games behind the second-place Toronto Raptors.
However, a losing streak could bury them at the bottom of the playoff bracket, as they are currently just two games above the ninth-place Celtics after Wednesday's defeat.
In order to avoid a potential skid in the absence of Stuckey's bench production, look for second-year shooting guard Glenn Robinson III to receive an uptick in opportunities behind Ellis.
Robinson III received 13 minutes of action in Wednesday contest against Boston, hitting two of his four field goal attempts for five points, three rebounds, and two steals.
In 25 minutes per game, Stuckey has accounted for 9.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per contest thus far in 2015-16. He has shot 41% from the field despite hitting on a paltry 21% of his three-point attempts, far below the career-high 39% that he converted from deep last season.