With Gerald Wallace Hurt, is Jerry Stackhouse the 'next man up'?

With Gerald Wallace having suffered a heel contusion on Wednesday night against the Boston Celtics, the Nets are now looking for the "next man" to step up and fill the void. The question now remains, though, who will that next man be?

Well, as Rod Boone found out in speaking with Deron Williams, that next man may very well be Jerry Stackhouse. Yes, the same Stackhouse who was all but out of the rotation a month ago. But, to be fair, it's also the same Stackhouse who did this.

Williams seems to think that Stackhouse is more than capable of filling in for Wallace while he heals, which shouldn't be all that tough of a task, especially on the offensive side of the ball where Wallace is struggling mightily.

Stackhouse took the focused, nonchalant approach in offering up his thoughts about being the next man in line. He told Boone, "It is what it is... Hate to see somebody go down, one of our main guys in Gerald. Hopefully, he gets back and gets well. Every game that I don’t play, I sit on the edge of my seat wanting to play. It ain’t like I’m there comfortable and happy that I’m not playing. I want to play in the games and when I get my opportunity, I try to make the most of it."

Stackhouse scored seven points with four rebounds and three assists in 22 minutes against the Celtics.

The Nets have four regular season games left, and right now their main focus is clinching homecourt advantage in the first round and making sure their core players, which includes Gerald Wallace, are healthy come playoff time.

• Deron: With Gerald hurt, it's next man up - Rod Boone - Newsday
• Stackhouse gives Nets strong veteran presence - Tim Bontemps - New York Post