The New Big Shot Bob

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

You don’t earn a nickname like Big Shot Bob without making your share of clutch plays along the way. For 7-time (!) NBA champion Robert Horry, that resume was as long as the Sixers’ losing streak to start the season, and included the game-winning jumper in Game 1 of the 1995 Western Conference Finals to help the Rockets past the Spurs, the corner three to put things away for the Lakers in Game 3 of the 2002 Western Conference Round 1 series, and of course, the buzzer beater against the Kings in Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals, just to name a few. He even helped sink the Sixers with a big corner three in the final minute of Game 3 of the 2001 Finals.

Equally important to those iconic moments in NBA history, the Sixers have won two of their best three games, in large part thanks to the shooting prowess of newcomer Robert Covington. A new Big Shot Bob has been born.

Now with the team for 11 games, we’re starting to get a large enough sample size to truly appreciate just how prolific Covington’s shooting has been thus far. He’s currently firing away at a 44.6% clip from the field, 53.1% from three, and 95.5% from the foul line. This factoid really puts into perspective just how impressive some of those numbers are:

If Robert Covington had enough shots to qualify (he’s not far off) he would rank 3rd in NBA in 3PT FG% & 2nd in FT%.

— Dennis Deitch (@DennisDeitch) December 9, 2014

That shooting has had a tremendous impact for the team, as Covington is the only player on the 2-18 Sixers with a positive plus/minus on the season. The team’s offensive rating goes from a respectable 102.3 when he’s on the court, all the way down to a stomach-curdling 88.1 when he’s off the court (meaning they score 14 more points per 100 possessions with him on the floor). Coming from the Houston Rockets and their D-League affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Covington is the perfect acolyte for Daryl Morey’s all threes or shots around the rim edict, as he has yet to take a single shot from the mid-range area on the season. He’s more than a long-range bomber though, as Covington is drawing fouls in the paint as well, with 20% of his points coming from the free throw line. It’s telling that the first couple clips from both the Minnesota and the Detroit game highlights below show his ability to drive to the hoop and receive a feed around the rim:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MJlIeWd4KU] [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_66YHBiskL4]

Now, I’ll be the first to tell you basketball isn’t only played on one of the court, and Covington’s defensive work certainly needs a lot of improvement. During the Pistons game, there were a couple occasions where Kyle Singler (not exactly the most fleet of foot wing in the league) blew right past Covington for easy buckets. Brett Brown acknowledges that area of his forward’s game still needs a lot of work:

Brown on Covington: “[He’s] shown me more than I ever would have imagined, offensively…Now we have to help him get the other side right.”

— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) December 9, 2014

Nevertheless, given his prowess on the offensive end, especially given the dearth of players on the Sixers roster with a similar skill set, Covington’s presence on the floor is invaluable for the team right now. He opens up things tremendously for the guards, totally working within the confines of the offense as all 100% of his 3-pointers made thus far have been assisted. Right now, Kyle Korver is the gold standard for floor spacing and the ability to keep defenses honest on the perimeter, and Covington is right there with the former Sixer:

On the year… Kyle Korver: 9.6 catch-and-shoot PTS/36mins on 55.6% Robert Covington: 9.7 catch-and-shoot PTS/36mins on 54.8%

— Max Rappaport (@MaxRappaport) December 8, 2014

With Covington’s emergence, not only can Sixers fans forget about their team being the laughingstock of the league, but they have a new, positive streak to keep an eye on: 

If R Covington hits 3 3s Wednesday at Hawks, he’ll become 1st #Sixers player since Korver (3-8 to 3-18-05) to do in 5 straight games. #76ers

— Tom Moore (@tmoore76ers) December 8, 2014

Long live Big Shot Bob.