October 19, 2017
Robert Covington has to appreciate this moment as much as anybody. He lived through those 40+ point losses, the nights in mid-January where you could buy a ticket to a Sixers game for less money than it costs to buy a beer at the arena.
At times he even became a face for all the criticism – Deadspin once said he was "in Philly to help the Sixers lose" – and his own fans took to booing him last season when he got off to a slow start from three.
Those days feel like a distant memory now. No longer the only shooter on the court, Covington has more real estate to operate on offense than he's ever had, thanks to the addition of guys like JJ Redick, Jerryd Bayless, and even the presence of Joel Embiid. After knocking down seven threes on Wednesday night, Covington opened up at Friday's shootaround, and explained what a difference it makes to be surrounded by shooters, as opposed to being the lone shooter on the court in years past.
It makes our offense that much more effective. Defenses can't just sink in on one guy, focus in on one guy. Now that we got JJ [Redick] out there, [Jerryd Bayless], JoJo back, it opens up the court and now defenses have to pick and choose how they play. One guy, they key on him too much, we'll find ways to get other shots, and we're finding them and getting them incorporated in the offense in different ways. Now that we have more people on the perimeter, it allows us to really attack defenses in different ways. They have to play us a whole lot differently.
One needs to look no further than the Warriors to see an example of how shooters can help amplify each other's strengths. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson likely would have been elite shooters regardless of where they played, but by sharing a backcourt together, they make defenses cower in fear. Teams are either frozen by that fear and are too slow to rotate, or they get too aggressive trying to close out, which opens up the extra pass for lots of wide-open looks.
The Sixers have a long way to go before they can compare themselves to Golden State, but you already see how Covington's life has gotten easier by playing with other shooters.
Philadelphia will create a lot of their offense in transition this year, and now teams have to pick up multiple shooters streaking down the court on a fast break. The Wizards scramble to pick up Redick in transition on this play, which frees up Covington for a wide-open look from the corner.
Easy money.
Covington simply did not get many of these looks during the last few seasons. In transition, he was often the primary shooting outlet, which meant teams would close out hard on him as Washington did on Redick in the above clip. Until now, that meant Covington would be forced to dump off to a lot of players who frankly couldn't shoot, your Jakarr Sampson and KJ McDaniels type players.
Now, Covington is the man benefitting from collapses on Redick, and he's much more equipped to deal with it.
Brett Brown had a different explanation for Covington's success against the Wizards, and a blueprint for more success moving forward. Now that Covington is being bumped to the four spot with the new lineup configuration, Brown believes he'll get more shots that are in his wheelhouse, and less impactful defensive pressure.
"I think it's his position that's helping him. When you play Cov at a three, he's got two and three men guarding him," said Brown. "He can play that, but he has different defensive players guarding him when he's a two and a three. His shots are coming pin-down ish, coming off instead of going forward and trailing into it. I think that has a lot to do with it. Go back and look at his success, him running in trail and just rising up...our spacing I think encourages him to tap into that skillset."
That tracks with some of what you can see on film. Late in the game against the Wizards, Covington leaks out in transition, and it's Marcin Gortat who ends up having to pick him up. The big man is not at all accustomed to closing out on the perimeter, and he does very little to bother Covington as he rises up here.
Some of that can just be credited to good shooting, but all players are products of their situation to an extent. The more Covington gets put into positions like these, the more success he (and the team) will have.
Better teammates and matchup advantages will help Covington, but we can give him credit for creating some of his own success, too. This play is as simple as Covington catching the opposing defense with their backs turned, and slipping into the right space to receive a pass at the top of the key.
And while we have to keep in mind this is all just one game, Covington looks more comfortable shooting off screens than he ever has in the past. His footwork is cleaner, his mechanics are more consistent across the board, and at his height, it remains difficult for defenders to bother his shot when he rises up.
The results are indicative of a lot of work being put in during the offseason. Covington is going to get a major payday in the near future, and if game one is any indication, he has never been in a better position to succeed on offense. He has his teammates—and himself—to thank for that.
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