By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)
After playing one good half of basketball, followed by a LeBron James explosion of brilliance on Monday, the Philadelphia 76ers head to Milwaukee still in search of their first win of the season Wednesday night. Unfortunately, just as it appeared that the team was creeping back toward full strength, Robert Covington re-aggravated his knee injury in practice Tuesday;’ he is now questionable for the game against the Bucks.
It had been surprising to see Covington return to the court Monday just 10 days after suffering what was originally deemed a 2-3 week injury, given the Sixers’ usual cautious nature in regard to injuries. This time around, don’t expect him to come back until he’s without a doubt 100%.
In other Sixers-related injury news, the team applied for a hardship exemption to add a 16th man to the roster following Monday’s game. We still have yet to hear whether the league accepted the request (although that’s not expected to be an issue). One thing we don’t know is who Philadelphia will use to fill the spot. We do know that it won’t be Furkan Aldemir as many expected, as he’s slated to sign with a team in Turkey.
As for the Bucks, they were hyped by many coming into the season as a young team on the rise. After making the playoffs and having a chippy first-round series with the Bulls, some people thought the team might make the jump into the 4-5 seed range in the Eastern Conference. Thus far, things have not started out as Milwaukee fans might have hoped. The Bucks are just 1-3, mainly due to their struggles on the defensive end.
The defense was supposed to be the core identity for the long-limbed, athletic Bucks under head coach Jason Kidd. Currently though, they sit with the second-worst defensive rating in the NBA (112.7). The main culprit has been defensive rebounding, as opponents have collected 33.5% of offensive rebounds, the worst rate in the league. One could easily point the finger for that toward back-up big men Johnny O’Bryant and Miles Plumlee, who have horrendous DREB% rates of 10.5 and 9.1, respectively (compared to 22.8 for starter Greg Monroe).
Those guys are getting more minutes than perhaps Kidd would like because of injury concerns the Bucks are dealing with at the moment. John Henson has sat out most of the games with an achilles injury, while O.J. Mayo has yet to play with a hamstring problem. Even former Sixer Michael Carter-Williams sprained his left ankle toward the end of Monday’s game against Brooklyn and it’s unsure whether he’ll go tonight.
One bright spot on the injury front for the Bucks is the return of Jabari Parker, who will be making his season debut after last year’s ACL surgery. Parker will be on a 15-20 minute limit, but should still provide a nice injection of scoring into the lineup.
Despite Milwaukee’s early season struggles, the Sixers should have their hands full with a couple of guys. The Greek Freak, Giannis Antetokounmpo, has been amazing through the first few games, averaging 22.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, while shooting 58.1% from the field and 42.9% from three. If he adds that consistent outside shot to his game, there’s really no telling where the ceiling will lie for a guy who is still just 20 years old.
The Bucks have also received great play from their big free agent acquisition, Greg Monroe. The former Piston has averages of 20.3 points and 9.5 rebounds, while shooting 61.5% from the field and 81% from the line. I’d expect Jahlil Okafor to get the early assignment on Monroe with Noel forced to the perimeter to guard the rangier guys Milwaukee throws out there at power forward. Whether Okafor can slow down Monroe should be a nice test for the rookie.
On the road and likely without Robert Covington, the Sixers are currently 10-point underdogs tonight in Milwaukee. If they can bring the same level of intensity from the first half Monday night, I like them to at least keep things close.
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