The Sixer Sense
Fansided

Robert Covington has lost confidence in his shot

By Christopher Kline

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 5: Robert Covington #33 of the Philadelphia 76ers handles the ball during the game against the Detroit Pistons on January 5, 2018 at Wells Fargo center in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 5: Robert Covington #33 of the Philadelphia 76ers handles the ball during the game against the Detroit Pistons on January 5, 2018 at Wells Fargo center in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Philadelphia 76ers need Robert Covington to be better, and that starts with confidence.

When you look past J.J. Redick‘s recent injury, the Philadelphia 76ers have a lot going for them. Joel Embiid is an All-Star starter, Ben Simmons might join him as a reserve and they’ve won five of their last six games. One thing that isn’t going in their favor, however, is Robert Covington’s shooting.

Over his past 10 games, the man praised for his 3-and-D abilities has shot just 30.2 percent from deep. He’s also averaging 8.2 points over that stretch, which falls significantly below his season average.

Almost all of that ties back to confidence. Covington has always been streaky, but right now he’s flat-out hesitant to shoot. He’s passing up open looks, which takes away a lot of what he brings to the offense.

More from Sixers News

He’s not an advanced creator, so most of his value is rooted in hitting open shots. If he’s passing those shots up, defenses don’t have much to worry about.

One play in particular stood out in Thursday night’s win over Boston, and it was an excellent example of what I’m talking about. With the game getting tight down the stretch, Covington passed up a clean look from deep, only to clumsily drive into traffic as the shot clock expired.

That kind of hesitance kills any chance of getting into rhythm, something Covington is clearly lacking at the moment.

This is all new for Covington too. Even with his streaky nature in years past, RoCo has always been willing to shoot it. He was chucking — and making — shots from well beyond the arc earlier in the year, and started off the season before taking plenty of threes despite some early struggles.

Even if he isn’t making shots at a high percentage, Covington’s extended range and confidence normally gives him plenty of gravity as a shooter. When that confidence isn’t there, though, his value plummets. That’s what we’ve seen over the past couple of weeks.

Covington still brings some value, as he’s still a plus defender whose length and versatility gives Brett Brown a lot of options. But when you consider how thin the Sixers are on the wing in lieu of Redick’s injury, Covington will need to snap out of his cold streak as soon as possible.

Next: Covington must step up for the Sixers

Again, it’s confidence. He’s passing up good looks and that seldom ends with positive results. He needs to stop overthinking things and let it fly — sooner or later, they’ll start falling.