The Robert Covington thread: "Big Shot Bob"

[jscott]

Big Stop Bob

[KGdaBom]

RoCo is 2nd in DRPM so far this season.

1.Marc Gasol: 5.03
2.Robert Covington: 4.1
3.Hassan Whiteside: 3.91
4.Rudy Gobert: 3.2
5.Mason Plumlee: 3.09
6.DeAndre Jordan: 3.07
7.Anthony Davis: 3
8.Marcin Gortat: 2.94
9.Paul Millsap: 2.85
10.Boban Marjanovic: 2.81

RoCo is the only player in above list who isn't a C/PF. He is also the only player who isn't a C/PF in top15 DRPM list.

But he's just a role player.... Not a star..

[GeorgeMarcus]

RoCo has a better RPM than Butler so far this year.

That’s because he’s a better defender than Butler, by a small but clear margin. The trade should end up a win/win for both because we needed Butler’s shot creation.

Most of RoCo’s negative press came from Celtics fans who wanted to make fun of people who thought he was better than Jaylen Brown. I’m sure Ainge would kill to replace JB with Cov right now.

[GeorgeMarcus]

RoCo has a better RPM than Butler so far this year.

That’s because he’s a better defender than Butler, by a small but clear margin. The trade should end up a win/win for both because we needed Butler’s shot creation.

Most of RoCo’s negative press came from Celtics fans who wanted to make fun of people who thought he was better than Jaylen Brown. I’m sure Ainge would kill to replace JB with Cov right now.

My b, somehow I read DRPM instead of RPM. First part of my response was off.

[life_saver]

KAT and RoCo already seem to be pretty good buddies -

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[Klomp]

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[minimus]

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If I were GM I would be concerned. No need to run RoCo into the ground.

[Klomp]

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[TheZachAttack]

Running through and doing this just to add to the positive vibes right now. Covington's been amazing so far, I'm going to remove his stinker and track his stats in the other 7 games to show the kind of player he's been in those 7 games. I'm guessing he'll have stinkers, but that gives a good representation of the kind of player he'll be in 80% of games which is amazing.

Further his ability to still provide positive minutes even with an absolutely horrible offensive night is great to see. Against the Bulls, but 6 rebounds/1 ast/3 steals/3 blocks/+11 while shooting 1-18 is awful. I like the 10 3 PT attempts and the willingness to shoot, even when not making it his spacing still helps the other players on offense too.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
35 MPG
15.7 points/game
5.5 rbds/game
1.1 ast/game
3.6 TO forced/game (4 TO forced/game including the Bulls game)
0.6 to given/game
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Shooting Splits
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
51% FG% - 10.9 FG att/game (39/76)
58% 2FG% - 3.7 2's att/game (15-26)
48% 3FG% - 7.15 3's att/game (24-50)
67% FT% -1.71 FT's att/game (8-12)
67.7 TS%
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Per 36

Essentially averaging 16/6/4 TOs forced per 36 on 51/58/67
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Even with with the horrible game Covington's Wolves stats:

14.5/6/4 TO's forced/0.5 TOs given on 47.1 2 PT% - 40% 3 PT% - 71% FT%

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Covington's at 39.4% on 6.5 attempts per game this season in 21 games. If he's made the jump from a 36-37% 3 PT shooter to closer to a 38/39/40% 3 PT shooter on volume...that elevates his game immensely. That combination of offensive spacing, secondary scoring, and 1st team all defense is an incredible value from a team perspective.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


The Wolves got a steal. I really think going forward the Wolves best bet is to try and pair another elite wing defender who can also provide spacing next to this guy. Is Okogie that guy? Not yet but maybe he is in the future.

From there I think my ideal roster construction is a guy like Dario at the PF and a PG who can penetrate and score.

[Jedzz]

RoCo is 2nd in DRPM so far this season.

1.Marc Gasol: 5.03
2.Robert Covington: 4.1
3.Hassan Whiteside: 3.91
4.Rudy Gobert: 3.2
5.Mason Plumlee: 3.09
6.DeAndre Jordan: 3.07
7.Anthony Davis: 3
8.Marcin Gortat: 2.94
9.Paul Millsap: 2.85
10.Boban Marjanovic: 2.81

RoCo is the only player in above list who isn't a C/PF. He is also the only player who isn't a C/PF in top15 DRPM list.

But he's just a role player.... Not a star..

All those bigs playing defense at a high level. I guess I don't watch Marc Gasol enough if he's that far ahead of guys like Gobert and Covington.

[TheZachAttack]

One interesting question: Where do Wolves fans think Covington ranks as a player in the NBA, especially if he can hit 3's at 38% + on 6-7+ attempts per game consistently?

There are some questions such as Covington's performance defensively in the playoffs last season, but I think it's safe to say that Covington is arguably the best defensive wing in the NBA. Or at least, he's in the conversation with Kawhi, Roberson, and a couple of others as the best defender. This is evidenced by Covington finishing 4th in the NBA last season in DPOY voting and 1st team all NBA defense.

Covington's ability to play 1 on 1 D and switch and generate deflections and TOs at a league best rate is huge for a defense. We've seen early on his impact taking the Wolves from a below average defense to #1. Now, the Wolves will probably not continue to be #1, but can they be top 10? They've played good offenses during the stretch so I think it's safe to say that they can.

He may always be streaky offensively, but do you know another player who's considered a "role player" offensively and an elite defensive stopper who is widely considered a top 20 if not top 10 NBA player? Draymond Green.

Now, bigs *as a general rule* are more valuable defensively than wings...but if Covington's value is great enough to take a below average defensive team into a top 10 one...that's huge value.

Plus his value offensively to space the floor and play off the ball makes him a plus offensively and an offensive multiplier.

Covington shooting 40% from 3 this season ranks 2 in RPM, but last year he was 6th or 7th in RPM shooting 37ish%.

There are some limitations to the stat evidenced maybe most strongly by Tyus Jones last season, but what it does show is the positive minutes a player plays when on the floor even if it is somewhat team based.

In fact, guess who was number one in RAPM which adjusts for pace and other variables? Robert Covington. Basically, when Covington was on the floor his team played extremely plus basketball.

https://www.libertyballers.com/2018/4/27/17292156/robert-covington-top-30-nba-player

Here's a good article that captures this argument. Like Draymond Green, you will have to surround Covington with other elite players for the team to win. But Covington is the perfect #3 star to play with other elite ball dominant offensive players in the same way Green is/was both post KD and pre-KD.

I think there's a good argument that Covington is a borderline top 20 NBA player. What are your guys thoughts?

[TheZachAttack]

One interesting question: Where do Wolves fans think Covington ranks as a player in the NBA, especially if he can hit 3's at 38% + on 6-7+ attempts per game consistently?

There are some questions such as Covington's performance defensively in the playoffs last season, but I think it's safe to say that Covington is arguably the best defensive wing in the NBA. Or at least, he's in the conversation with Kawhi, Roberson, and a couple of others as the best defender. This is evidenced by Covington finishing 4th in the NBA last season in DPOY voting and 1st team all NBA defense.

Covington's ability to play 1 on 1 D and switch and generate deflections and TOs at a league best rate is huge for a defense. We've seen early on his impact taking the Wolves from a below average defense to #1. Now, the Wolves will probably not continue to be #1, but can they be top 10? They've played good offenses during the stretch so I think it's safe to say that they can.

He may always be streaky offensively, but do you know another player who's considered a "role player" offensively and an elite defensive stopper who is widely considered a top 20 if not top 10 NBA player? Draymond Green.

Now, bigs *as a general rule* are more valuable defensively than wings...but if Covington's value is great enough to take a below average defensive team into a top 10 one...that's huge value.

Plus his value offensively to space the floor and play off the ball makes him a plus offensively and an offensive multiplier.

Covington shooting 40% from 3 this season ranks 2 in RPM, but last year he was 6th or 7th in RPM shooting 37ish%.

There are some limitations to the stat evidenced maybe most strongly by Tyus Jones last season, but what it does show is the positive minutes a player plays when on the floor even if it is somewhat team based.

In fact, guess who was number one in RAPM which adjusts for pace and other variables? Robert Covington. Basically, when Covington was on the floor his team played extremely plus basketball.

https://www.libertyballers.com/2018/4/27/17292156/robert-covington-top-30-nba-player

Here's a good article that captures this argument. Like Draymond Green, you will have to surround Covington with other elite players for the team to win. But Covington is the perfect #3 star to play with other elite ball dominant offensive players in the same way Green is/was both post KD and pre-KD.

I think there's a good argument that Covington is a borderline top 20 NBA player. What are your guys thoughts?

[Jedzz]

Will Towns get tired of Covington poking fun at his defense, even if it sounds more jokingly coming from his voice? Covington sounds to be pushing them with a different straight forward tactic and leading by example. So we'll see soon enough if there is any push back or if things stay merry.

[Klomp]

Will Towns get tired of Covington poking fun at his defense, even if it sounds more jokingly coming from his voice? Covington sounds to be pushing them with a different straight forward tactic and leading by example. So we'll see soon enough if there is any push back or if things stay merry.

One thing I will say is that press conference interaction would've been perceived far differently by the fan base if it were Jimmy Butler and not Robert Covington. Towns seems to be more receptive to it now, but it's something to ponder at least....

[Domejandro]

Will Towns get tired of Covington poking fun at his defense, even if it sounds more jokingly coming from his voice? Covington sounds to be pushing them with a different straight forward tactic and leading by example. So we'll see soon enough if there is any push back or if things stay merry.

One thing I will say is that press conference interaction would've been perceived far differently by the fan base if it were Jimmy Butler and not Robert Covington. Towns seems to be more receptive to it now, but it's something to ponder at least....

Robert Covington is joking around about the perception of his defense while things are clearly going well and the defense is clicking. That is the major difference, in my opinion, he isn't bitterly compounding the problem, but rather engaging in friendly banter.

If we were playing poorly, I would like to imagine the banter wouldn't be there.

[KGdaBom]

RoCo is 2nd in DRPM so far this season.

1.Marc Gasol: 5.03
2.Robert Covington: 4.1
3.Hassan Whiteside: 3.91
4.Rudy Gobert: 3.2
5.Mason Plumlee: 3.09
6.DeAndre Jordan: 3.07
7.Anthony Davis: 3
8.Marcin Gortat: 2.94
9.Paul Millsap: 2.85
10.Boban Marjanovic: 2.81

RoCo is the only player in above list who isn't a C/PF. He is also the only player who isn't a C/PF in top15 DRPM list.

But he's just a role player.... Not a star..

All those bigs playing defense at a high level. I guess I don't watch Marc Gasol enough if he's that far ahead of guys like Gobert and Covington.

You do need to watch Marc Gasol more. He has been playing like a god both offensively and defensively all year.

[akeefe03]

it's absurd how impactful RoCo is. sign him to a 50 year contract

[King Malta]

Beast.

[theGreatRC]

Block of the year candidate

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[Jedzz]

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If I were GM I would be concerned. No need to run RoCo into the ground.

OH NO! Start packing him with carbs. Don't let him turn into a toothpick like happened to Taj.