After dropping a career-best 40 points on the Chicago Bulls two days before Christmas, Detroit's Rodney Stuckey unloaded another 38 on the Sacramento Kings on Friday night.

Either Rodney Stuckey has arrived, or he's getting there in an awful hurry.

"There" in this case would be a place of distinction among the upper echelon of NBA players.

Stuckey, five years removed from leading Kentwood to a Class 4A state hoops title and earning MVP honors in the process, is turning heads and opening eyes with his dynamic play at point guard for the Detroit Pistons in his second NBA season.

Floundering within stumbling distance of .500 for most of the season, the Pistons have improved to 20-11 and are riding a six-game winning streak. Stuckey, who unloaded 38 points and seven assists on the Sacramento Kings in Detroit's 98-92 victory Friday night, has been a catalyst in the Pistons' resurgence.

Folks around the NBA are starting to take notice of Stuckey's evolution, including a chagrined Kenny Natt, the coach who watched the former Eastern Washington University star torch his Kings.

“Stuckey had a monster game, and we weren’t able to contain him," Natt told the Associated Press on Friday.

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Stuckey, averaging 13.2 points for the season, has put up averages of 22.7 points and 5.2 assists during the Pistons' six-game streak. His increase in offensive production was critical against the Kings, with the short-handed Pistons playing without Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess.

Stuckey, picked No. 15 overall in the first round by the Pistons after his sophomore year at Eastern, played a career-high 42 minutes Friday, matching the 42 he logged while scoring a career-best 40 points against the Bulls on Dec. 23. His workload has spiked dramatically since Detroit GM Joe Dumars refashioned his roster in early November by sending Chauncey Billups to Denver in exchange for Allen Iverson.

"It’s different. All I do now is sleep," a smiling Stuckey told the Detroit Free Press after Friday's win. "But I knew that once this trade happened a lot more was going to be on me. It’s just all about getting better."

Not only is he getting more playing time, he's getting more shots. He put up 29 against the Kings, making 15. He's shooting 49 percent (54 for 111) from the field over the past six games, a number disfigured slightly by a 7-for-19 showing against the Magic on Dec. 29.

Iverson, for one, seems to appreciate Stuckey's emerging potential.

“I knew last year what Rodney could do, just from the times I saw him," Iverson said. "He just needed an opportunity to show everyone.”

And the legendary practice shirker is not alone in the growing Stuckey fan club. The Pistons blog Full Court Press rounds up NBA observers' reaction to Stuckey's ascent.

The home fans are noticing as well. After Stuckey broke up a 3-point game late against the Kings with a layup and a three-point play, a chorus “Rod-ney! Rod-ney!” rang out from the 22,076 in Auburn Hills, Mich.

“That felt good,” Stuckey allowed.