Stackhouse to jump in

St. Francis — It may take awhile for the Milwaukee Bucks to get a feel for what newcomer Jerry Stackhouse can bring to the team and how he will fit into the rotation.

But a sneak peek will be available Wednesday night, since coach Scott Skiles plans to throw Stackhouse right into the fire against the Toronto Raptors at the Bradley Center.

"He'll play, so it'll impact (the rotation) a little bit," said Skiles. "I don't know how much he'll play. It'll depend on how he looks and foul trouble and all the things it always depends on. But we'll put him out there and will try to give him some opportunities and see where he's at. It's great that he can practice and all that, but you don't really know until you go out in a game."

The game will be the first of the season for Stackhouse, who was signed by the Bucks on Monday, and he is as curious as everyone else to see what he can contribute.

"I don't know where I am," the 35-year-old Stackhouse said after practicing with the Bucks for the first time Tuesday. "I've been working out a little bit. When they brought me in, they put me through a pretty tough workout and I handled that pretty well.

"But as far as getting out in a 48-minute game and what I'm able to do, and not playing in over a year, your guess is probably as good as mine. I'm not trying to force the issue. I know it's more of a marathon than a sprint for me right now because I'm just getting into it."

The Bucks went out on a talent hunt after losing shooting guard Michael Redd to a season-ending knee injury last week, and they settled on Stackhouse, who played in only 10 games with Dallas last season because of injuries.

When Redd went down, Charlie Bell was inserted into the starting lineup, rookie Jodie Meeks got a bit more playing time, and Skiles also went at times with the backcourt combination of Brandon Jennings and Luke Ridnour, which has been effective at times. Meeks, who is averaging 13.5 minutes per game, has averaged 15.4 minutes in the five games since Redd went out.

In the last five games as a starter, Bell has averaged 9.8 points on 37.8% shooting and 28.6 minutes. On the season, he is averaging 7.3 points on 37.9% shooting and 25.7 minutes.

Bell has worn many hats for the Bucks, starting in 20 games and coming off the bench in 17, playing as many as 40 minutes in a game, and not playing at all in other games.

"It's been up and down (as a starter)," said Bell. "To me, it really doesn't matter starting or not. I just want to contribute to the team. It's been difficult with Mike being hurt, and Mike coming back, and now Mike hurt again. We'll see what happens with Stackhouse and everything. But for me, I just want to contribute to the team.

"The main thing is we want to make the playoffs this year. I made it my first season here and it's been three or four long seasons of not making the playoffs. I just want to be there to give us a shot at being in the playoffs. If it's starting or coming off the bench, playing 30 or 10 minutes, I just want to win. Mentally, you've got to stay strong, and you never know what's going to happen. Just stay ready."

The Bucks are going to be patient when it comes to working Stackhouse into the rotation.

"We're prepared for this to take some time," said Skiles. "I would never put the pressure on him to feel like this has got to be a seamless thing for him when he's been out that long. He's in surprisingly good shape. Now one thing we haven't seen him do yet is run up and down the floor. It's a low-risk move for us that we hope pays off for us."