Lance Stephenson is erratic. He is unpredictable. He shoots 30 percent from 3-point range, can stall the Indiana Pacers' offense by holding the ball and often drives wildly into multiple defenders. He is also essential to the Pacers if they are going to have any chance of competing with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. In their 109-108 loss on Saturday, Stephenson was a stabilizing force, not a disruptive one. 

Early on, Indiana looked helpless defensively against Cleveland. It tried to switch pick-and-rolls, but too often ended up with guard Jeff Teague guarding LeBron James with little or no help nearby. The Pacers started Teague and Ellis in the backcourt, and neither are particularly adept at guarding bigger players. When the two of them shared the floor in the regular season, the Pacers surrendered 108 points per 100 possessions, which equals the season-long defensive rating of the much-maligned Cavaliers as well as the lowly Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic. In this game, Teague and Ellis played 24 minutes together and it was a disaster -- Cleveland scored 121.8 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. After falling behind by double digits, Indiana came back in part because it went away from that duo.

Stephenson scored 16 points on 8-for-13 shooting with seven rebounds and three assists in 27 minutes. Those are excellent numbers, but they don't fully illustrate his value. When he was on the court with C.J. Miles, Paul George and Thaddeus Young, they could all switch defensively. Stephenson is only 6-foot-5, but he is physical enough to guard bigger players and quick enough to stay with smaller ones. That's why McMillan chose to trust him to play the entire fourth quarter. In the minutes where the Pacers didn't have his versatility, they were punished for it. 

"Really in that first half we were trying to blitz and stay with our man and they were slipping under the screens and getting loose for 3-point shots," Indiana coach Nate McMillan said. "We had some mismatches and, you know, the key for us every night is to try to keep the ball in front. We feel like if we can keep the ball in front and force teams to shoot contested 2s and defend without fouling, that we'll be in position to defend the 3-point line.

"We went to a bigger lineup at the guard position with Lance playing the point and trying to keep them in front of us. I thought that worked. It helped us out. They had to shoot contested 2s. LeBron was able to get in the paint and score on some of those, but it allowed us to get back into this game and eventually have an opportunity to win."

McMillan praised James for his ability to target certain defenders in the pick-and-roll, then find open shooters. Switching is one way to limit the Cavs' open looks, but Indiana can't get away with that when Teague and Ellis are on the court together. McMillan did not say that he would definitely change his starting lineup in Game 2, but he did mention the possibility of bringing Ellis off the bench. That would be the obvious adjustment, but it wouldn't necessarily mean that Stephenson, who was plus-seven on Saturday, would start. Miles is another option.

"We gotta have a balance coming off the bench, too," McMillan said. "I don't have to start [Stephenson] to give him more minutes. I can bring him in early. He can't play 40 [minutes]."

With less than two minutes to play and the Pacers down 108-105, Stephenson had the ball in his hands on the perimeter. The Cavaliers completely backed off of him, daring him to shoot a 3-pointer. Eventually, he obliged, bricking the jumper and starting a debate between ABC's Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson about whether or not he did the right thing. This is undeniably part of the Stephenson experience.

While it's difficult to argue that taking the exact shot Cleveland wanted him to take was the prudent decision in crunch time, Indiana will have to live with that kind of possession from time to time. The Pacers wouldn't have been in the position for that shot to matter if he hadn't helped them get back into the game. If they are going to steal one on the road on Monday, they're going to need even more Lance.