Philadelphia 76ers: Regressing Players In For Rude Awakening If Struggles Continue
By Jake Hyman
The Philadelphia 76ers’ regressing players are in for a rude awakening if their struggles continue throughout the season.
They’re coming. Via the draft, trade and free agency, an influx of talent will revolutionize the Philadelphia 76ers roster in the 2016 offseason. The change isn’t subtle either. In addition to center Joel Embiid and Dario Saric reportedly joining the roster, three first-round picks also look to be featured on the roster at some point in 2016.
That’s five roster spots occupied by incoming talent, outside of the possible talents general manager Sam Hinkie goes after in free agency or via trade. With the arrival of talent to help provide a boost to the team’s effectiveness, some players already entrenched in the rotation will have to be released as a result.
It’s not taking advantage of this beneficial situation you’re in and squandering the chance once you’re given it. This theme resounds heavily to members on the team already. Since the start of the 2013-14 season, an astounding 51 players have suited up for the Sixers.
While Lorenzo Brown, Malcolm Thomas and even Christian Wood this season weren’t given enough playing time to gauge how important they were to the organization, a bevy of players failed to impress with extensive minutes they might not have received playing for other teams.
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One, in particular, is combo forward Robert Covington. After being signed before the 2014-15 season, following a D-League M.V.P. run the following season for Rio Grande, Covington sputtered early, shooting just 8-of-28 (28.5 percent) to begin his career with the Sixers. It wasn’t until Philadelphia’s first win of the season in Minnesota, subsequent to 17-straight losses, that Covington’s role amplified and he was earning consistent playing time.
The Tennessee State product, who went undrafted in 2013, became the Sixers’ primary gunner from deep throughout the season. Covington averaged 13.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 1.4 SPG, but his stats masked a weakness that has stricken his ability to repeat the productive first season with the team.
One of the league’s worst statistical shooters from the SF position, Covington’s eyesore 31.2 percent from deep is frightening, considering he’s taking 5.9 3-point attempts per game. The chart below illustrates the struggles Covington is having so far on the season from the perimeter and near the basket.
Considering that Covington isn’t a slasher and refrains from driving to the basket consistently, the perimeter efficiency is a glaring hindrance that has negatively affected his game this season. When you have a role on the team and you’re failing in it, minutes decrease as a result.
Monday night against the Timberwolves, Covington was seemingly forgotten, only playing for seven minutes and taking one shot. Last night against Atlanta, Covington played just 13 minutes, tied for his second-lowest amount of the season. He went just 3-of-9 shooting, but connected on 2-of-5 shots from deep.
The shooter has acknowledged his struggles and still has the confidence necessary to break free from this possible career-altering slump.
"“To be able to play, you have to knock ’em down, and I’ve been in a slump,” Covington said after Wednesday’s practice, per CSNPhilly.com’s John Finger. “But I keep saying that they’re going to go down the next time.”"
It’s a slippery slope that Covington’s playing on. He might believe that his shots will fall, but if they don’t he’s in serious trouble when it comes to time on the court and in the NBA. This isn’t just a rash acknowledgment based on a player’s season-long struggles either. If you can’t perform in Philadelphia, who is regarded as one of the league’s worst teams, then it’s difficult to latch onto another organization.
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Covington lack of burst suggest his offensive game is going to have to advance from his jump shooting rather than attacking the basket. He’s shooting just 35.3 percent on his catch-and-shoot three-point attempts, which almost comprises of half of his total attempts per game from the floor. It’s apparent that he’s regressed in his sophomore campaign in the association, but his position, as a forward, is more crowded than at guard for the Sixers.
In a similar situation to Covington, combo guard Isaiah Canaan hasn’t showed evidential improvement in the 2016-16 season, but plays a position less cluttered for Philadelphia.
Canaan transitioned to shooting guard this season after failed attempts at leading the team as a point guard. Averaging 10.5 PPG, Canaan has been abysmal shooting from the field, only converting 34.2 percent of his attempts. From three-point range, the Murray State product is slightly more effective (34.6 percent), but is still dragging the team’s efficiency down.
He’s not a natural point guard, favoring the shot over the assist, and resides on having his scoring fuel his value. At just 6’0″, he struggles to attack off the dribble and has issues dealing with length at the shooting guard position. Brett Brown benched Canaan in favor of Nik Stauskas Monday, who has become more efficient in January than in previous months.
The former No. 8 overall pick is Canaan’s primary competition for playing time. With Ish Smith and T.J. McConnell locking up the starting and backup point guard positions, respectively, Canaan’s future might be as a high-volume combo guard off the bench. Stauskas’ upside is arguably higher than Canaan’s and the Canadian has more athleticism.
Currently, the two-guard rotation doesn’t seem to be as cluttered as the forward positions for the Sixers, but a bevy of moves can change that heading into the 2016 offseason. Stauskas also was in a barren state as a struggling shooter looking to relocate his stroke.
He’s gone 11-of-23 from the floor over the past three games and even though that might be a petite sample size, his possible long-term value creates the belief that Stauskas has staying power over a Covington or Canaan.
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On a roster filled with a copious amount of players that were former undrafted and second-round picks, any serious addition will trump the struggling, or even semi-productive, talent on the roster. For Covington or Canaan on a 4-34 team, continuous regression could lead to the end of their relatively brief Sixers’ run.