October 24, 2015
When starting swingman Robert Covington went down in Friday night’s preseason finale against the Boston Celtics, it didn’t look very promising. He had to be helped off the floor was walking around on crutches after the game (per Bob Cooney).
Covington was scheduled to undergo an MRI today (per Keith Pompey), and Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania (aka “Young Woj”) is reporting that Covington won’t be out for too long:
Philadelphia's Robert Covington has been diagnosed with sprained right MCL and bone bruise in knee, source tells Yahoo. Expected out 2 weeks
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 24, 2015
My quick reaction is that this is good news for the Sixers. Scoring is hard enough for this team even with Covington, who averaged 17.4 points per 36 minutes and sported a .55 TS% as a rookie, in the fold. To soldier on without their leading scorer and best offensive player, at least until Jahlil Okafor proves himself, would have been a really tough ask of everyone else. Last year, the Sixers were 6.1 points per 100 possessions better offensively when Covington was on the floor than off it.
At least to start the season, the Sixers will be without at least Covington, Tony Wroten, and Kendall Marshall. If last night’s 65-point effort was any indication, trying to put the ball in the basket could be pretty gnarly for the first few weeks.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
