The Philadelphia 76ers have already had to deal with some serious injury issues, and the season has yet to start. Throughout the preseason, they Lost Nik Stauskas, it looked like they had lost Pierre Jackson, and fans had to watch through two of the team’s best players, Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor sitting several games due to injuries. Oh, and that’s not to mention Joel Embiid, whose foot has him sitting out for the second straight year (and his injury is bad enough that it has fans questioning his ultimate future with the team).
The last preseason game was an exciting one, just like a lot of the games. Although not broadcasted in the Philadelphia area, fans still we’re excited to look at the box scores and see how well the team did against the Boston Celtics, who were also the team they would kick off their regular season against. The game came with more tragedy than promise unfortunately, as Robert Covington left the game with a knee injury that ended up being diagnosed early on as a sprain.
Robert Covington suffered a right knee sprain and will not return tonight.
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 24, 2015
Covington went to see doctors later on, and they also found out he had some bone bruising. It could have been worse, and the team is definitely thankful that it was not any sort of torn ligament or muscle.
Injuries like this really depend on the player and how quickly they can recover, but we should, at the very least, be expecting Covington to miss a few weeks. The Sixers were already feeling like they were a few weeks behind where they should have been, and this only makes things worse.
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The starting five is anything but ready. Jahlil and Nerlz didn’t get a whole lot of playing time in the preseason and Nik Stauskas got zero time in the preseason. Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall were both players expected to be lobbying for the starting point guard spot, but injuries set them back as well.
Isaiah Canaan got a decent showing of minutes, and will be a temporary relief at the point guard slot, but still, it’s clear that what was supposed to be the original starting five is not ready to go, and probably won’t all be ready to go until mid to late November. Even then, it will also take more time for them to really start to gel together and get a groove with each other.
It could have been doable with Jah, Nerlz, Nik, and Rob all ready to go on opening night or soon after, but with Covington missing time, it really just adds another road block for the team.
Covington is a big part of the team, and has been since he came onto Philadelphia’s roster. To some, he’s very average, but to others, he’s a diamond in the rough that’s always been seen as underrated, and seems to do his best work under the radar.
Covington’s 13.5 points per game last season was third best on the team, and his 4.5 rebounds per game alongside 1.5 assists only added to his value. Covington is no all star player, and he’s not a player that I would say is the “best on the team” but he’s one of the “glue guys.”
Compared to other notable small forwards, his sophomore season wasn’t that shabby.
RoCo Compared To Other Small Forwards’ Sophomore Years, Per Game
| Rk | Player | Season | Age | FG% | 3P% | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmelo Anthony | 2004-05 | 20 | .431 | .266 | 5.7 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 20.8 |
| 2 | Robert Covington | 2014-15 | 24 | .396 | .374 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 13.5 |
| 3 | Danny Granger | 2006-07 | 23 | .459 | .382 | 4.6 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 13.9 |
| 4 | Andre Iguodala | 2005-06 | 22 | .500 | .354 | 5.9 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 12.3 |
| 5 | Kyle Korver | 2004-05 | 23 | .418 | .405 | 4.6 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 11.5 |
| 6 | Jalen Rose | 1995-96 | 23 | .480 | .296 | 3.3 | 6.2 | 0.7 | 10.0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/25/2015.
RoCo Compared To Other Small Forwards’ Sophomore Years, Per 36 Minutes
| Rk | Player | Season | Age | FG% | 3P% | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmelo Anthony | 2004-05 | 20 | .431 | .266 | 5.9 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 21.5 |
| 2 | Robert Covington | 2014-15 | 24 | .396 | .374 | 5.8 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 17.4 |
| 3 | Danny Granger | 2006-07 | 23 | .459 | .382 | 4.9 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 14.8 |
| 4 | Andre Iguodala | 2005-06 | 22 | .500 | .354 | 5.6 | 3.0 | 1.6 | 11.7 |
| 5 | Kyle Korver | 2004-05 | 23 | .418 | .405 | 5.1 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 12.7 |
| 6 | Jalen Rose | 1995-96 | 23 | .480 | .296 | 4.4 | 8.4 | 0.9 | 13.5 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/25/2015.
Here, we see Covington is already ahead of some other players that are now considered better than him. Does this mean he will definitely live up to be better than them? Maybe not, but it’s something to consider, that he’s doing this much already in his career.
Covington is one of the players holding the team together, adding in what he can to push the Sixers towards winning. Is he a leader? No, he’s not. Is he a necessary component of the team? I’d say that in many ways, yes, he is. Losing him is a huge blow to the Sixers.