He has started. He has come off the bench to play meaningful minutes. He has come off the bench to play garbage minutes. And, he has not played at all.

Donald Sloan is having that kind of season with the Pacers, experiencing the complete range of opportunities and emotions. He can handle it, because that's the story of his NBA career in a nutshell. He's in his fourth season with his fourth team, after weathering the storms of the minor leagues, so an erratic role brings far more mild frustration rather than full-blown anxiety.

“It's a little difficult,” is how he put it following the Pacers' win over the Lakers on Monday.

“But I don't control those things,” he adds. “At the end of the day, I try to stay professional and ready when needed.”

Sloan has done that, as he proved again against the Lakers. Playing 25 minutes and 16 seconds, he scored 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Fifteen of those came in the fourth period when he hit 6-of-9 shots, including all three three-point attempts. It was garbage time, yes, the Pacers taking a 31-point lead into the final period, but it was an NBA game against an opponent that was still playing hard, and in fact won the quarter by 12 points.

“It's been a weird thing for him, starting the first 18 games,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “Donald works as hard as anybody to stay ready, and it showed up in the last couple of games.”

Monday's game was the latest chapter in a season full of plot twists. Sloan started the first 18 games at point guard while George Hill and C.J. Watson were injured. He scored everywhere from 2 to 31 points in that stretch, with his best game coming when he had 29 points, five assists and one turnover in a win in Dallas – his hometown – on Nov. 24. He followed that, however, with 17 combined points over the next four games.

He went directly from starting to not playing after C.J. Watson came back and Rodney Stuckey was given a shot at point guard. Over the next four games, his only appearance was 2 minutes and 42 seconds of mop-up time against Atlanta.

He's playing again over the past three games, since Stuckey has gone back to an off-guard position and Watson is starting at the point. But the player who is supposed to be starting, Hill, is practicing again and expected back in a week or so.

“I don't know what that's going to mean for the future,” Sloan said. “But I'll be ready to play my game when needed.”

Sloan was admittedly surprised to fall out of favor so suddenly, to go from starting to sitting for an entire game. Vogel's explanation was that he wanted to get back to playing “Indiana Pacers basketball,” which meant putting a team on the floor that featured as much length as possible at every position. So, the 6-5 Stuckey started at point guard, and 6-7 Solomon Hill was moved from small forward to off-guard. Sloan, though, couldn't help but notice that Watson, one inch shorter than him, stayed ahead of him in the rotation. Most likely, that had to do with pecking order. Watson had been the backup all of last season, and hadn't played his way out of the role since returning from his injury.

“OK,” Sloan recalled thinking to himself. “I'm the odd man out again, like in the past.”

Sloan keeps it all in perspective, because he knows he's done more to establish his NBA career this season than ever before. He had started 11 games for Cleveland late in the 2011-12 season, when Kyrie Irving was injured, but this in some respects is his rookie season. He's played enough minutes, had enough opportunities, to prove himself as a legitimate NBA player, and probably has secured a job in the league for at least a few seasons more.

So, yes, he's a little frustrated with his unpredictable role. But he's thrilled with the unprecedented opportunity he's received so far.

“I've always considered myself a high-character guy,” he said. “Come from nothing. Not supposed to be here in the first place, so say a lot of other people. Definitely don't want to form no rep of being the bad guy. Stay professional and when needed I'll be ready. Coach knows that.”