"I'm good, everything is good"

At the Pistons practice facility a scruffy-faced Rodney Stuckey says he “just chillin’” and waiting for the results to come back on the various tests he’s taken.

There’s no timetable for Rodney’s return to the court.  Of the incident on Friday night he said it did feel similar, if not a little worse, to November 2008 when he left a game against the Boston Celtics at half time due to dizzyness.  The Pistons have officially said Rodney did not suffer a seizure.

You can watch Rodney’s full interview at the Detroit Pistons official Facebook page.

CLEVELAND — A Pistons spokesman said this morning that Rodney Stuckey is doing well and should return to Detroit this afternoon after collapsing Friday night during a loss at the Cavs.

Pistons vice president of public relations Matt Dobek said Stuckey remains at the Cleveland Clinic awaiting further tests and if everything ckecks out OK, he will return to the team.

Very good to hear. Hoping Rodney makes a full recovery and they’re able to accurately diagnose what exactly caused this incident so nothing like it ever occurs again.

It’s reported Rodney had a seizure, some reports terming it a ‘violent seizure’.

AP photo

I hope it’s awhile before I see Stuckey on a basketball court again.  He needs to get right.  Run every test there is to run.  It’s not every day you see and athlete carted away unconscious wearing an oxygen mask.  Don’t take any chances.  First place, last place, it doesn’t matter.  That man’s health trumps all basketball storylines.  Stuckey is a father before he’s anything else.

At last report from a Cleveland clinic near the Quicken Loans Arena  Rodney was conscious, breathing on his own, and his vitals were normal.  He will stay overnight for observation.

Pistons’ Stuckey suffers apparent seizure during Cavs game [Detroit Free Press]
Pistons’ Stuckey collapses during timeout in NBA game [Bloomberg]

In November of 2008 Rodney Stuckey went down to his knees at center court at halftime of a game against the Celtics due to dizziness that was said to have been brought on by allergy medication.

Players join at center court to pray for Rodney (REUTERS)

“I didn’t have a father figure growing up. Chauncey kind of filled that role,” Stuckey said. “On and off the court, he just sort of filled that role. He’s a great guy.”

I love this quote, but unfortunately Stuck’s not alone, after last night all the Pistons should be calling Billups daddy.

source

But to Stuckey’s credit it looks like Fiddy’s a fan…or is this Rodney?

(H/T: Steve Kays)

Stuckey led the Pistons to a 3-0 week, averaging 27.0 points on .529 shooting from the field, 6.0 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals. On Dec. 12, Stuckey led the Pistons with a season-high 29 points and added seven assists, helping Detroit to its fifth straight victory, a 104-95 win over Golden State. On Dec. 9 at Philadelphia, Stuckey led all scorers with 27 points, including the game-winning field goal with 8.7 seconds remaining. – Pistons.com

It’s been a treat to see how relentlessly aggressive Rodney has become of late.  He’s also doing a great job of transitioning between the one and two guard in game.

Rodney won the EPOW honors in early January last season.  Very similar circumstances too.  The team was on a winning streak and was dealing with key injuries.

Here’s what Kelly wrote on Yahoo!’s Ball Don’t Lie blog:

And, bless Joe Dumars, but what the hell is he thinking?
For 2009-10, yes, this could be a big deal for the Celtics. Hamilton could have a bounce-back year, same with Tayshaun Prince, and Rodney Stuckey should improve. Based on sheer depth, alone, Detroit could have handed the hated C’s another Eastern Conference championship. Not unlike the way the Celtics possibly handed Detroit the same thing five years ago.
Beyond that? They would have handed Boston an above-average offensive shooting guard with a three-year, $34 million dollar contract. A 29-year old defensive stalwart, already on the decline, who is owed about $21.5 million over the next two years. And Rodney Stuckey, a nice player, possibly a point guard (his assist ratio rivaled that of Shane Battier(notes) and Derek Fisher’s(notes) in 2008-09), and definitely a guy looking for a contract extension after next year.
What would Detroit have gotten? Sweet, sweet relief.

Sounds like Kelly Dwyer feels Dumars owes Boston for facilitating the ‘Sheed deal?  If you keep reading Dwyer goes on to suggest that Joe might be in denial about this team and what phase of rebuilding we’re actually in saying none of the three Detroit players mentioned are guys you can build around.

Myself, I don’t like the deal from a competitive standpoint.   I’d like to have a point like Rondo (with some sort of caveat that Rajon go through a Hazmat grade disinfectant process to get that Celtic taint off of him before he throws on the red, white and blue).  I wouldn’t mind seeing another package with Rondo in it, but I’d want no part of Ray Allen even with his big expiring contract.

How many moves can we make for cap space?  Unless Joe plans on suiting up Ben Franklin and the boys we’re eventaully going to need some players not just contract assets.

Our guy Stuck did us proud last night helping the Sophomore team comeback and beat the Rookies 122-116.  It was the Kevin Durant show, but Stuckey held his own out there and got pretty good love from the announcing crew.

Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey will take part in the Rookie Challenge on Feb. 13 as part of All-Star Game festivities in Phoenix.

Stuckey is on the sophomore team that will take on a team of NBA rookies in the game. The sophomores have won six straight in the series. -Freep

The T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam will be televised live nationally on TNT at 9 p.m. ET – NBA.com