The Sixer Sense
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Six Sixers Things I Like and Don’t Like

By Mike O'connor

Nov 21, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) along with forward Ersan Ilyasova (7) and guard T.J. McConnell (1) and forward Robert Covington (33) talk during a break in action against the Miami Heat in the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 101-94. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) along with forward Ersan Ilyasova (7) and guard T.J. McConnell (1) and forward Robert Covington (33) talk during a break in action against the Miami Heat in the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 101-94. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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5. Joel Embiid’s social media presence

Embiid can be as outlandish as he pleases and we still enjoy it. Exhibit A: voting himself an All-Star so that he can date an anonymous famous woman (let’s be real, it’s probably Rihanna).

Joel Embiid is everything the Sixers’ needed both on and off the court. Embiid has brought continued positive spotlight back to the Sixers for the first time since the Iverson days.

Embiid knows the way to fans’ hearts. Play hard on the court, and show them love off of it. Embiid coining the nickname, “The Process” and playing like an All-Star is everything that Hinkie-era fans deserved. To put it in perspective, there are many casual NBA fans who are unfamiliar with Hinkie’s process, but know Joel as “The Process.”

We have never lived in an era where fans can connect with NBA players through one click, and we have also never seen a player that is as social media savvy as Joel. He is our treasure.

6. Robert Covington, not figuring out how to drive

The progression of players’ jump shots if often difficult to track. Sample size combined with the near invisible line between a make and a miss can make statistics deceiving. Even Danny Green clocked in at 33 percent last season despite shooting 40.7 percent for his career and 46 percent so far this season.

Production at the rim, however, is not nearly as fickle. Covington has exhibited little to no progress in his ability to attack the basket, and is now resorting to simply driving less.

The vast majority of Covington’s misses look like this:

It’s almost as if Covington has just dipped his hand in a puddle of grease before going up for each layup.

He seems to not trust his own momentum at times. He often mistimes his jumps and feels like he needs to throw the ball in. Bear in mind also his fouls drawn percentage decreasing over the past three years. That tells me that Covington is starting to shy away from contact, and therefore, from the rim.

Covington is still an extremely useful player, and not every player in the league can be expected to deposit gentle finger rolls five times a night. But I’d like to see Covington attack the basket with more authority on a regular basis.