CAMDEN, N.J. — Robert Covington is in his second go-around with the Philadelphia 76ers after being acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in the big James Harden trade. Covington played parts of five seasons with the Sixers before he was sent to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2018 Jimmy Butler deal.
In his second stint with Philadelphia, RoCo is averaging 3.4 points and 2.2 steals in a role off the bench. He is a floor spacer who can also make a difference on the defensive end. He knocked down a 3 and had four steals in Friday’s win over the Detroit Pistons on the road.
Now back with the Sixers for about a week, he has begun to understand coach Nick Nurse’s style on both ends of the floor.
“I’m getting the offense underway,” he explained. “I’m a lot better and more comfortable with that. Understanding the principles on defense. A lot more freedom. Simple and like I said, Nick’s been doing a great job of acclimating us into everything so it has been a smooth transition thus far.”
Covington was a big help in the Sixers being able to turn the game around against the Pistons. Despite the fast start by Detroit, the Sixers didn’t panic. They buckled down on the defensive end and slowed Pistons rising star Cade Cunningham.
“They came out with a different intensity,” Covington explained. “They came out and jumped on this early, but that’s part of the NBA. We stood that. We didn’t go the opposite way. You know how those types of games can go. You can fold or you can come together and rally together.”
Covington’s continued understanding of how Nurse wants to play and his role within the team certainly contributed to being able to get the job done. The Sixers made adjustments to their schemes at halftime, and Philadelphia rallied.
“We went into the locker room, made a couple adjustments, what we said we was gonna do,” Covington finished. “We came out, executed pretty well in that third quarter. We really jumped out and that’s what was the X factor in the game.”
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