Don’t let one bad series define Robert Covington
One bad series shouldn’t have Philadelphia 76ers fans turning on Robert Covington.
The Philadelphia 76ers‘ second round loss, among many other things, was a low point for Robert Covington. He struggled mightily from start to finish, overshadowing an impressive Game 2 with four subpar performances.
On the series, Covington averaged just 6.8 points per game while shooting 26.3 percent from the field and 25 percent from deep. His shots weren’t falling and his lack of off-the-dribble prowess was exposed, with the Celtics’ defense smothering him on the perimeter.
To make things worse, Covington’s defense slipped as well. Largely regarded as a First Team All-Defense candidate, Covington’s inability to stick with the likes of Jayson Tatum and Terry Rozier was disappointing. The Sixers were lacking two-way depth on the wing all series, and Covington wasn’t supposed to be part of the issue.
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So, as the nature of fandom would have it, people have been calling for RoCo’s head ever since the series ended. We’ve already seen countless tweets questioning whether or not his extension was worth it and some have claimed he should be moved to the bench permanently.
That’s simply not the case.
In a reactionary society, it’s easy for us to base opinions on the most recent occurrences without using proper context. Covington, while streaky all season, has been one of the Sixers’ most valuable pieces. One bad series aside, you can still argue that he’s their best defender.
Even when shots aren’t falling, Covington’s defense is normally enough to maintain his value. That was the case in the Miami series, and that’s why we here at TSS dubbed him the team’s third-best player coming into the season.
As for the extension, Covington’s contract is extremely team-friendly. In a market that features a slew of overpaid, below-average wings, giving RoCo somewhere between $10-13 million per season is nothing to complain about.
There are obviously parts of his game Covington needs to improve. He’s an inefficient finisher around the rim, while his tendency to avoid hard cuts to the rim only worsens that problem. Ideally, he can also avoid some of the cold spells during he tends to have during the season.
But calling Covington a bad player or demanding he be benched after one (1) bad series isn’t the best way to approach the situation. Switch-heavy defenders who can space the floor and generate turnovers have a lot of value.
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Covington is still among the best of the best in that respect.