Philadelphia 76ers Can’t Beat Boston Celtics Without Robert Covington

Mark Wilson May 9, 2018

Will the Philadelphia 76ers be able to complete the comeback against the Boston Celtics? While the drive is surely there, the issue is, all players have not lived up to their potential. The Sixers are a young bunch. While they have a few players who have played in the playoffs before, the majority of their roster is still wet-behind-the-ears. One, in particular, is Robert Covington.

The Philadelphia 76ers have their dynamic duo but there’s only so much Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons can do alone. For the Sixers to fight their way back, they will need all hands on deck. It’s no secret that they rely on the assists of Simmons and the rebounding of Embiid, however, the defense and outside shooting of Robert Covington is just as important.

Robert Covington Being Benched Was Well Deserved

Yes, the perimeter shooting of J.J. Redick and Marco Belinelli will be huge as well along with the output of Dario Saric. But it will be the all-around game of Covington that will set the tone. The issue Covington is facing is that Brett Brown has lost confidence in his starting small forward.

Right before Game 4, Brown announced that T.J. McConnell would start in Covington’s place. With the Sixers down 3-0, the move paid off as McConnell scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists.

On the year, Covington averaged 12.6 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 41 percent from the floor. Not bad numbers, but after doing a little digging, Covington is by far the Sixers’ weakest link in their main rotation. For a player who shot an awful amount of three-pointers (6.9) per game, Covington hit just 37 percent of those attempts. But in the postseason against the Celtics, things took a turn for the worse.
Maybe the defense of the Celtics can be blamed for his woes but Covington has had plenty of clean looks at the basket. For the series, Covington is averaging just 7.3 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 25 percent from the floor. Yes, it was time for Brown to make a move. But for how long?

Covington Can Still Save The Philadelphia 76ers

What Brett Brown and his teammates must do is continue to support Covington through his struggles. But do so with a firm hand. There’s no need to go full Kobe and Jordan on him with the screaming, but just let him know they have his back. Also, Covington has to know when and not when to force the shots. He’s notoriously known for hoisting bad attempts rather early in the shot clock or when a defender’s hand is in his face. During the regular season, he may get away with it, but come playoff crunch time, he has to know when to shoot and when to kick it back out.
In the playoffs, they say that each possession counts. Covington has the skills to make teams pay if left open. While Covington will never be confused with the likes of LeBron or Paul George, he does have a very similar skill set to both. He’s one of the few, when motivated, who can play both ends of the floor with the best of them.

Now, if Brown elects to keep Covington with the second unit, this may bode well for the Sixers. While they will indeed be smaller, Covington can be the catalyst for the team when points are hard to come by for a lineup that relies heavily on the perimeter shot. With Brown forced to sit Holmes and Johnson much of this series, Covington is the next big man along with Ilyasova that can lead the attack in the paint and the perimeter.

For the Sixers to get back into this series, they will need Robert Covington.

[BXReporter]

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