BOSTON — The Philadelphia 76ers needed somebody to set the defensive tone against the Boston Celtics on Friday, so they turned to Robert Covington. The Celtics were getting everything they wanted on the offensive end, and coach Nick Nurse needed a stopper.
Covington entered the game, and he immediately wreaked havoc. He had three steals in the first quarter and finished with five. He also had 18 points while drilling three 3s and making all seven of his free throws.
It wasn’t enough to make up for the absence of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Nic Batum in a 125-119 loss to the Celtics, but Covington made a huge impact. It was easily his best game since returning to Philadelphia via the James Harden trade.
“Like I said, the more and more games I get under my belt, the more and more I’m gonna get comfortable within the offense and defense,” Covington said after the loss. “Learning the terminology. Learning the little things that they do. How we are gonna guard. It’s gonna all come together.”
When Covington was last in Philadelphia, he and the Sixers were different. Nurse runs different schemes than Brett Brown, who was the coach in Philadelphia in Covington’s first go-around. It takes time to learn different terminology and to find that comfort level with a new team.
Covington has made a big impact on the defensive end, and he is finding where he fits in with the Sixers on both ends. He was terrific on Friday in Boston.
“I think that’s what he kind of does,” Nurse said of Covington. “He makes plays. He’s a loose ball finder, good anticipation as a weak side defender, and I thought he stepped into — he turned into the 5-man for a little bit. We were trying to pick-and-pop their size a little bit and he turned into that and made a couple of good plays.”
Covington was part of a group that put up a big fight against the East-leading Celtics. There are no moral victories in the NBA, but the Sixers can take silver linings from this one.
“I think again, our guys just across the board,” Nurse added. “We were fighting and I thought again, I thought we totally outplayed them and just didn’t get any breaks at the end.”
Philadelphia has a next-man-up mentality in these situations, and Covington epitomized that.
“This was a good game,” he explained. “We came out and did what we supposed to and gave ourselves a chance. That’s what coach talked about. We down guys, but we got 10 guys. Everybody’s gonna play and that’s what happened.”
[lawrence-related id=87196,87199,87193]