Chris Copeland, Damjan Rudez Battle for Minutes
By Ben Gibson
Chris Copeland barely saw the court a year ago but this year he’s been a starter even as the injury-riddled Pacers get back closer to full health.
Copeland began the season as Indiana’s leading scorer, getting nearly 30+ minutes and obviously the health of David West contributed to that overall total of minutes and production. But even after West’s return he at first was getting closer to 25 minutes until his scoring dropped into the single-digits.
Enter Damjan Rudez.
Copeland saw his minutes get cut into the teens despite being a starter as coach Frank Vogel decided to let Rudez more significant minutes. So far it looks like Damo may be a better option. A quick glance at the two’s stats from this year has Copeland ahead in a lot of the raw numbers categories, but Rudez is a bit closer on a per possession basis and in shooting percentage.
Per Game
| Rk | Player | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Copeland | 26.6 | 3.9 | 10.5 | .371 | .341 | .744 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 11.0 |
| 2 | Damjan Rudez | 17.3 | 1.8 | 3.9 | .451 | .360 | .667 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 5.0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Per 100 Possessions
| Rk | Player | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | ORtg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Copeland | 7.6 | 20.6 | .371 | .341 | .744 | 6.8 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 21.6 | 92 |
| 2 | Damjan Rudez | 5.3 | 11.7 | .451 | .360 | .667 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 3.6 | 14.9 | 109 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Damjan has been more efficient in his possessions and simply been a better shooter, especially in December so far. Copeland also has a Usage rate that nearly doubles Rudez (22.5 vs 12.6) but is barely getting any more production in that time. Neither seems to much of a defender as far as the on-court/off-court numbers show, but Damjan holds a slight edge. Problem is for either player you could argue that neither is playing around league average (See BPM under advanced). Just looking at the numbers from December, Copeland has a slight edge on points per a game (6.8 to 5) while both play around 18 minutes a game. Copeland has as many points as shots, and that isn’t the most encouraging number you want from any player. Damo is shooting better at 47.4% to Copeland’s 32.4%
The real question here is what role are you expecting out of these minutes?
If you want a shooter who comes in and can hit a few 3-pointers while not effecting the offense’s normal flow, then you want Damo. If you want a guy who is a bit more athletic, maybe can go off for 20 points, and will want the ball in hands a fair-share of the time, you want Copeland. Right now all the numbers point to Rudez deserving more time, but do you really want Damo to be a starter? That’s what makes giving him any more minutes a tough sell. His defense is arguably worse than Copeland’s when you look at them playing defense one-on-one, but Rudez appears to just be more efficient on the offensive end. If Copeland can rebound in any way he gets the edge, but right now Damo is playing better. It is as simple as that.
The other issue here for Vogel and the Pacers is neither of these players should be getting starting minutes as their production simply doesn’t warrant it. It would make sense if either came in to give Paul George a break, and that’s how the roster was built, but that isn’t the reality of the current situation. Unlike the point guard position with C.J. Watson, neither Copeland or Rudez has made a compelling argument to start. If Vogel wants to minimize the negative impacts, he may consider giving Rudez even more time, but unfortunately for the Pacers, neither is showing themselves worth of starter’s minutes.