TheRinger: Covington in the Middle of a Revolution

Dam good read!

Fascinating and familiar history of Robert Covington's NBA journey.

Covington's transition to Rockets was seamlessly successful because of his Viper's experience.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/8/12/21363868/in-the-middle-of-a-revolution

As those players evolve, so too does the framework in Houston. There was a time when the Rockets might not have traded Capela for Covington—when their reliance on pick-and-roll basketball eclipsed their curiosity in spacing the floor to its fullest. Yet with the propulsion of Harden’s creativity, Westbrook’s force, and D’Antoni’s ideology, Houston pushed boldly into the future by re-acquiring a player it had once let go.

After the trade, Covington was relieved to see so many familiar faces at the Toyota Center. There is, however, one critical difference in the franchise between then and now: After using the Vipers to push the limits of modern basketball, the Rockets eventually became them. What was once revolutionary has now become the organizational standard. “At the time,” Smith says of his run in the Rio Grande Valley, “we were looked at like we were nuts. We were ruining the game.” Now, the Rockets take an even greater portion of their shot attempts from beyond the arc (49.7 percent) than the Vipers ever did. The experimental went mainstream.

“Houston,” Daniels says, “was using us like guinea pigs.”

The Vipers played Covington and James Johnson (a 6-foot-7 forward now with the Timberwolves) together as an interchangeable 4 and 5, an echo of the kind of small ball Houston plays now. On defense, the Rockets asked the Vipers to experiment with switching all ball screens—a full season before the Warriors won their first title with that very strategy. “I think they just wanted to see what would happen,” Smith says. Switching has since become Houston’s default coverage, affording Covington even more opportunity to shape every defensive possession. “I sit up here and see how everything unfolds, and how the game changes,” Covington says. “You never realize that a team can be a trendsetter for how the NBA transitions.”

 

Extraordinary defense. Historically good.

 

Yes, but we just being greedy now.

Trick is to find the next James Johnson, and not give him away.

 

Morey mad the right choice not to re-sign Parsons.

Many did not see that at time just as many did not understand Covington for Capela trade.

And many still don't.

 

Ecstatic that RoCo is on our team, finally.

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelp...oser-look-robert-covingtons-defensive-prowess

 

Just does so many things for our defense.

 

Recognition of RGV Vipers science experiment. 3xcept they cannot correlate how it revolutionized the Rockets.

Also no mention of Nurse as coach.

And it was Nick Johnson not Chris Johnson, Hollinger.

 

Not sure if RoCo for Clint trade made sense while CP3 was still on the Rockets.

But it does make you think, especially because Clint was unplayable vs. GSW in the last postseason. He was not just getting outplayed by Draymond but by Lonney too.

 

Covington was 4th in PIPM in the bubble.

 

The Disruptor

@Deckard @don grahamleone

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