Exactly, but Covington has a lot of potential. I'm very eager to see how he will play next year, because next year he'll get some playing time. At least that's what I'm thinking.
This. As a team, we don't shoot well enough for a team that shoots as many three pointers as we do. If Covington can hit 40% from distance and play respectable D (all reasonable expectations), he might be able to carve himself a spot in our rotation.
Near NBA ready would be a guy that needs <5 games to get up to rotation level NBA player in my opinion. Yes, neither you nor I "know", but there is a lot of information to make a prediction. There is a lot of evidence that suggests he is just outside the rotation and will likely see time (probably limited) with Rockets before the end of the year (early next year at the latest). The Rockets forecast for the rest of the season is sunny with a small chance of Covington playing (not including tonight). If you want an exact day, yeah, that will be tough. His problem is that Casspi and Garcia aren't going away this season and their role affects his. My guess is that he is up with Rockets with at least ten games to go very similar (but to a much smaller extent) to how the Rocket used Jones.
I hope he will be able to contribute for 10 minutes a game, if he keeps on improving in practice this year. Though I did click on packaging him for a trade, if we can get a better role player.
Tearing up the D League generally, but not always, means you are better than the worst player on a quite a few NBA active lists. Greg Smith provided some valuable minutes for Rockets in the past. Covington appears to be a smarter defender than Jones and Smith.
Well, he's only shooting 35% on three pointers in the D-League, so 40% in the NBA is rather optimistic in the near term in my opinion. I think defense will be a problem for Covington in the NBA. He's only 6' 6.25" tall so he's really short for his natural position of power forward. His standing reach isn't too bad, but he's small for a power forward. I don't think he is quick enough to defend most small forwards in the NBA, so he's got a problem when it comes to defense.
Wow, is he really only 6'6" and change? I'm halfway across the country and only know the basics. I'll defer to your knowledge on the situation. That's shocking, though, considering some pre-draft scouting reports had him listed as 6'8" and 6'9". The only thing I'll add is kind of common sense: in the D-League he's a go-to-scorer thus drawing much more attention and taking tougher shots. As a pro, he would be a 3&D spot shooter that defenses wouldn't pay a lot of attention to.
I am pretty high on his future, I hope to see more of him next year and I'll be watching him in the summer league.
Put him on the roster and when Casspi or Garcia have just let three straight Dwight altered shots turn into three easy dunks, big Kev'll at least consider his best rebounding SF. The one who's twiddling his thumbs at the end of the bench.
Typically, 3 point % goes down a little from D League to NBA. However, 3PA/min tend to increase by about 20%. I don't think either are really applicable to Viper players this season. While NBA defense will be tighter, Rockets want their players slightly more selective in their shooting. I would expect Covington's 3 pt percentage to stay about 35% and his rate of attempts to drop by 20-30%.
It's easy to get excited over epic play in the D-league. Just remember the D-League often makes 3rd string NBA talent seem like Michael Jordan. I think Covington has a chance to get some playing time (possibly a little this year) and more next year. Learning to successfully deal with the vast increase in talent he will encounter in the NBA will take time.
Look, I understand why people get prospect boners and fall in love with the unknown, but as an undersized PF Covington doesn't address an immediate need, and honestly D-League numbers don't mean a whole hell of a lot. If they did, Courtney Fortson wouldn't be in Russia right now. Let Cov continue to play and develop for the Vipers until we really need him. He'll still be under contract after this year.
There will be more to it than that. Most likely his 3pt% would be around 32% in the NBA but all the experience based things would probably be a large negative effect at first. Since we are in 'win now' mode a half a season of that type of experiment would probably be unwise. At the minimum need to get him heavy minutes in next years preseason if we plan to utilize him.
Yep Mr Clutch, that sums it up PERFECTLY as to why he hasn't been given a chance to play in REAL minutes, not garbage time.
Same here Bobby, he most likely, will get time next year as part of the main roster, having a full training camp and preseason with the Rockets. Aren't both Casspi and Garcia's deals up after this season (or a non-guaranteed option for next year)???
