Covington reminds me somewhat of Shawn Marion (length, athleticism, 6'7"-ish height with 7'2"-ish wingspan) as well. I think in due time he could work at the four spot. He's mighty good with the 3 for a frontcourt player so that's a great find right there. Plus he has those intangibles that enable certain players to "deserve" playing time. He has actually seen time as a PF and understands the "required contribution" of the position. Lastly, I love his attitude, how he willingly submits to provide what the team needs, or be what the team needs him to be. He knows he's a natural 3, but willingly played PF and tried to do a good job as a PF because that was what his team needed him to be. Great attitude, he'll definitely have an NBA career.
He was solid all around player. Only advice I can give him is he better learn how to dribble the basket better. If he improves on that and polished his jump shot he is a NBA player.
Dude shot 39%, 45%, and 46% from the 3 in college http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/47005/robert-covington 37%, 46%, 40% for Canaan
My sense is that Morey finds it idiotic to waste roster spots by stashing borderline veterans who will likely never play on injured reserve. Makes much more sense to develop promising players in the d-league. It also makes little sense to let a young player like Motiejunas with perceived upside to waste away in the d-league forever; if he's not going to figure into your plans this season, flip him for a draft pick. Motiejunas has no business getting minutes for a championship contender.
Anybody know the possibility of Jack Cooley joining the team? Loved his play and hustle in Summer League, was money for Notre Dame all year.
Nice. A true 7 footer weighing in at 265 pounds who can run on the break with CP25 and has this for a post up game: <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9gTGTjV6Z0YUKFBzbtIi4AKrTzNSDSqpsJXCRBkvE-k?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-eaaHTjs3hIQ/Uidf41QnAII/AAAAAAAAANs/VVubne76gu8/s800/Shotchart_1378312156616.jpg" height="613" width="652" /></a> and only needs to improve 3 point shooting % and defense and you want him off the team? Are you a Lakers fan?
I see Covington making the roster. Young/cheap player that has 'upside' as a two way player. Might end up being a poor mans Danny Granger.
I see him as making the roster (this year) because Morey used his last 3 year contract on the dude. They must think highly of him. Could be waived/traded during the season, but eh. I also prefer to start building a steady stream of rotation players out of the draft. If Covington becomes a decent backup stretch 4, his trade value is much higher than Aaron Brooks or something.
DMo ranked 5th in the league in post ups efficiency (1.05 ppp) and 16th in cut (1.39 ppp) by mysynergy. Think about that! Only four players in the whole league had better efficiency posting up. It was a small sample size but still an impressive feat by a rookie. He might not be the best PF on the roster now but his potential is certainly higher. His size and offensive tools are all there. T Jones? A slightly better defender but no where near as good as DMo on offense. Just by showing DMo's synergy stats to other GM's, Morey can get a lot more value than Jones. If Morey has to flip for the sake of a roster spot, it would not be DMo; Jone is a more likely candidate.
Dude was pretty terrible last season and I don't think he has the lateral quickness to ever not be terrible defensively. Defense isn't just about effort, some guys just can't do it; Andrea Bargnani is a good example. Mostly, I think a team is better off trading a guy who isn't likely to contribute anytime soon (and possibly never) for a first round pick. Projects like Motiejunas are better off playing for teams that can afford to give him plenty of playing time (bad teams). I actually think Covington will be the better player.
All I know is, this is a great problem to have, and we're in an excellent situation. You know when you're reading articles and talking about who will get the last spot on the bench, your team has done well. Signed, Spoiler
1. How much of that was posting up and not other things like put backs, open layups, etc? 2. He is 7 feet but doesn't play like he's 7 feet. 3. How much of that was played against scrubs and how much against legit NBA talent? 4. As of right now, Jones is better, Jones has shown more improvement, and Jones has a higher ceiling due to his athleticism.
typical clutchfans overhyping unknown players, from Joey Dorsey, Terrence Williams, Scott Machado, and now Covington, just enjoy the ride and don't put too much expectations your expectation, your disappointment ,
1. 40 post ups at 5th best efficiency on post ups. 2. Huh? He has leverage issues that 7 footers have. He plays like skinny 7 footers play except with better touch around basket. He does not like a heavy 7 footer. 3. About half his minutes were starter minutes. If I were to guess, I would say somewhere between 5-15% were against scrubs. 4. Jones has higher potential defensively. Offensively, Jones didn't show much skill offensively except for cutting, offensive rebounds, and transition last season. Jones has a higher floor because of athleticism, but Motiejunas has a higher ceiling because he is more skilled. Jones right now looks like he'll be the better player.
First off I would like you all to see the top 5 man lineups from last season: <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/U_5XhyyjnFrJDpTr6JVtzdmlsV5ovQZ_eoL6dsxSjTc?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-zet_OxrcfkA/UieQjagni6I/AAAAAAAAAOA/rbvASC6vVLM/s400/Houston%2520Rockets%2520top%2520five%2520man%2520units%2520data%2520from%252082games.com%2520-%2520Mozilla%2520Firefox%2520942013%252035442%2520PM.jpg" height="270" width="400" /></a> And what do we see here? Why it is D-Mo playing 40% of his season minutes with Harden, Lin, Parsons, and Asik. We can be pretty sure that 222 minutes was against the best team the opponents could put on the floor. Also of interest is that lineup was the third most utilized by the Rockets last season. The second thing is that Jones is nowhere on the list. We can be pretty sure then that 1) He does not have enough minutes on the court to be statistically significant, and 2) He was probably playing against scrubs. 275 minutes last season. So there is little that you can point to that says that Jones is better. Not yet anyway. Next I quote kuku: D-Mo obviously is already a factor around the basket. Of course that was expected given his history in Europe. So what would it take to make D-Mo an absolute force on the offensive side? This will occur when he adds 6+% to his 3 point accuracy. Last season D-Mo's missed 3 point shots were almost all just a couple of inches off. With his work ethic the odds are high that the will increase his 3 point accuracy enough to become dangerous. Defense is a sticking point. But that was expected from a player who has spent his life playing in European teams dirty little zones. But D-Mo has all the tools. He is both quick and fast and should be able to close out to the three point line as fast as any PF in the league. He is tall, and by what measure are you saying that his lateral quickness is bad? And no, your eyes are not evidence. He is after all about as quick as it gets in the post game. So basically you two are just grousing and giving your own little opinions. I guess it is a free country, but do have the pride to put some real information in your posts.
OK, that was just an unqualified opinion, unjustified by facts. It carries no weight with most of us.
