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Player Review 2015: Chris Copeland

Age: 31
Years Pro: 3
Status: Unrestricted free agent
Key Stats: Points per game rose from 3.7 to 6.2. 3-point percentage dropped from 41.8 to 31.1.

First things first — Chris Copeland is going to be OK.

On April 8, with the team in New York facing the Knicks, Copeland was attacked outside of a night club and suffered multiple stab wounds in the abdomen and arm. It was a frightening and confusing ordeal for all involved, as members of the Pacers struggled to comprehend the attack while simultaneously trying to propel the team into the postseason.

Solomon Hill and Paul George each donned Cope's signature headband while he was recovering from the injuries. When asked how long he would be wearing the headband, George simply replied, "Until 22 gets back," referring to Copeland's uniform number.

While there is a strong chance that Copeland will indeed return with some team, it's still unknown whether it will be the Pacers — who currently have limited offseason money to spend — that bring him back in.

Injuries blindsided Indiana this season, which forced Copeland into the unlikely role as a starter at the beginning of the year. Cope performed as well as he could given his role on the offense, averaging 12.1 points per game in the month of November. But at his core, Copeland is a power forward, and he was being asked to play small forward for most of his time on the court.

"He didn't really get a fair shake," said Pacers head coach Frank Vogel, when asked to evaluate Copeland's performance over the last two seasons. "We brought him in to be a backup spread-four (power forward) and a couple weeks after we got him we got a great backup power forward — a borderline starter power forward — in Luis Scola, who never misses a game. So his opportunities to perform weren't what he expected when he signed here."

Even with the limited opportunities, Copeland wasn't without his big moments this season. In a game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 29, Cope poured in 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bulls. Although the Bulls ended up narrowly winning the game, Cope's scoring keyed a ridiculous 23-2 run which saw the Pacers briefly take the lead after they had been trailing by as much as 21 points in the second half.

But eventually, Copeland's shooting started to hit a noticeable slump, with his 3-point shooting bottoming out at 10.5 percent in the month of January. Vogel elected to remove Copeland from the rotation and inserted Damjan Rudež, who ended the season shooting over 40 percent from deep.

By the time Copeland suffered his frightening incident in New York, he hadn't logged more than 10 minutes in a game in over two months. Rudez, the player that had replaced Cope in the rotation, had himself been supplanted by the return of Paul George, thus burying Copeland even deeper on the bench.

Copeland may not have contributed much as the season went on, but his influence in the locker room is one that his fellow Pacers rave about. A loyal teammate and someone who prepares in practice as if he were starting every game.

But when something as serious as the attack on Copeland occurs, the escapism that sports offer us quickly vanishes and reminds us that these athletes are humans just like everyone else. It reminds us that basketball isn't life; life is life. And whether he comes back to the Pacers or takes his skills to another team, we are all thankful that Copeland is OK and expecting a full recovery.

"I'm much better," he said, "and I appreciate all the love and support."