[The Athletic] Inside Robert Covington’s 1st Week

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Jazz teammates Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles and former teammate Ekpe Udoh were gathered a few feet outside the visitors’ locker room, engaging in what appeared to be a vibrant conversation. Mitchell and Ingles listened attentively to what Udoh was saying, joked around and caught up with an old friend they hadn’t seen in a while.

In the 36 minutes and 33 seconds that Mitchell was on the floor against the Rockets, there was hardly a chance for him to catch his breath. It didn’t matter whether or not he had the ball in his hands. Covington’s—and Houston’s job for that matter—was to make life as difficult as possible for Mitchell. Whether that meant blitzing a Gobert screen, clouding his vision, or physically trying to impose their will, Mitchell was not to have a ‘Sunday Funday’.

Mitchell scored 24 points on the evening but not in the most efficient manner, needing 23 shots to get there—a testament to the revamped switching defense the Rockets employed all evening. Besides Westbrook who guarded him for nearly 30 percent of the time he was on the floor, Covington drew the second-most frequent looks of Mitchell, holding him to just 2-0f-6 shooting, and 1-for-4 from beyond the arc.

“You a hack, bro,” Mitchell said with a smile as Covington approached the group. “Just a hack, man,” he said, shaking his head.

There was a certain respect that existed between Mitchell and Covington at the moment they embraced, two competitors tasked with different objective—complex in the micro, but simple in the macro: Mitchell’s, to put points on the board, and Covington’s, to stop him.

Further down the walkway was Rockets defensive coach Elston Turner stood with his wife, who had been waiting for him since the final buzzer. As he watched Covington leave, all he could think about his Trevor Ariza. And 2009.

He leans his head back slightly as he recalls that lone season, eleven years ago. It was Ariza’s first stint in Houston, having arrived off the back of winning a championship with the Lakers, and intrigued at the idea of being a focal point of a team. Turner, who was also an assistant coach back then, remembers being initially surprised by Ariza’s length and size, two traits he immediately likened to his first impressions of Covington. “He’s taller than I thought,” Turner said. “Longer than I thought, he’s a good size guy.”

Although Ariza didn’t have the best offensive season, at least from an efficiency standpoint, one aspect of his game that never wavered was his defense. Turner, who’s been tasked in that department for decades, worked closely with Ariza daily, wanting to extract as much as he could out of him, and understanding the level of talent he had at his disposal.

Having been around Covington for less than a week, Turner admits he still has to see just what Covington can and can’t do, but he’s loving what he’s seeing so far.

This past offseason, while much was made of the offensive stylistic shift in their point guard tapestry, moving from the Chris Paul era to the Russell Westbrook era, just as big of a shift came on the defensive side of the ball.

Jeff Bzdelik, who was Houston’s defensive coordinator for three seasons, revitalized the team’s defense bringing an aggressive, switch-heavy style, putting an emphasis on turnovers and speed. His departure to New Orleans made way for Turner’s return and with it came an old-school flair.

As with any switch, even if it’s not a major one, some new concepts would have to be learned, some old habits would have to depart as new ones would have to be formed. In a broad sense, all coaches are one and the same. Each one wants to score more than their opponent and wants to play a respectable level of defense. It’s how these objectives are completed which separates them.

Turner’s scheme, by his own words, was one that wasn’t opposed to switching in the halfcourt but only in advantageous situations. He wanted Clint Capela, for example, to be kept as close to the paint as possible, to finish possessions off by securing rebounds and protect the rim.

Turner was aware that smart teams can counter switching by slipping screens in pick-and-roll situations. If an opposing big or any other player did that and dove to the rim, a second Rocket would come trap in the restricted area. The key here, was timing, communication, accountability, and rotation. Turner anticipated the opposing player would then try and look for the open man in the corner, then putting the onus on his players to rotate accordingly and recover. If carried out to perfection, the result would usually be a turnover—be it a sloppy pass or a steal—or a low-percentage shot. It’s commonly referred to as “shrinking the floor”—reducing the space an opposing player has to work with causes mistakes, and the Rockets want mistakes.

More than four months into the season, however, the results have been anything from perfect. It’s been a bit of a struggle for the players to carry out Turner’s plan, either due to a lack of communication, ball watching, or help coming from the wrong area. The result of this is allowing a high amount of open or wide-open threes (closest defender being at least 4 feet away). It’s not just the eye test that confirms this belief. Per Second Spectrum, the Rockets give up the 14.6 open threes a game, fourth-most in the league, and 16.2 wide-open threes, bottom ten leaguewide.

According to Turner, situationally, the Rockets are sound defensively. When it comes to defending things like double drag screens or staggered pick-and-rolls, they’re able to hold their own. It’s what comes after that, that has been an issue. “We have to play better man on man defense,” Mike D’Antoni said. “A lot of times we don’t shrink the floor like we should and we can do a better job there. And then some slips on pick and rolls, just being clearer on what we’re doing.”

Trading Capela away was a big move, obviously for the sheer fact that a contender’s starting center was traded one year into his five-year, $80M deal, but also for what came in return, and its potential impact. In Covington, a 6’7 elite defender with a 7’2 wingspan, a message was sent not only from D’Antoni to the rest of the league that he was all in on small ball but to Turner as well. His scheme would be changing to fit the tools available to him. Now, Turner’s defensive units would play faster on that end of the floor, with an aim to swarm defensively and be physical, to compensate for their lack of size in the middle. But more importantly, it was a return to the days of old—turnovers. And Covington would be Turner’s teaching assistant, giving him the instructions to help the other four teammates on the floor.

“We want to force turnovers now,” Turner told The Athletic. “Because we’re smaller and quicker. It’s not too smart to try to stop teams at the end of possessions with blocked shots and rim protection. We like to prevent it at the beginning or in the middle, create steals, get the ball back into our offense’s hands so we can go down and score. So the things that we’re trying to do, he fits right into that. Being the same size with four other guys, switch stuff, fly around and create a little havoc.”

It’s still early—only three games in—but the signs are clearly there. Covington’s presence will make the Rockets a better defensive team, just by his presence. His hands and feet are what attracted Houston, and his voice, constantly in communication with his teammates, will give support to his cause. But it’s his head and eyes that put the icing on the cake.

Covington’s taken on the unheralded role that Ariza championed for three seasons—free safety. His head is on a constant swivel, having to be aware of multiple actions going on at the same time. On a possession, Covington can be paying attention to what Harden is doing on the other wing, watching the opponent with the ball, and making sure no funny business is going on behind him, like a backdoor cut or a slip to the basket. Ariza did this so well in his second stint, and was largely the reason the Rockets were able to ascend in the Western Conference. It’s the oldest cliche in basketball, but it’s true: these things don’t always show up in the box score. It’s just a knack, either you have it or you don’t. Ariza had it—and still does it for the Blazers. Covington has it too.

It’s a bit too early to point to on/off numbers, although Houston is allowing 26.2 fewer points with Covington on the floor, per Cleaning the Glass. But these Rockets are flying around on defense. They’re swarming, playing hard, and even battling on the glass with a collective team effort. For all the outside narratives of this team being a drag to watch, since the switch to small ball, it’s been anything but. The games against the Lakers and Jazz, two contenders, were 48 minutes of high-quality basketball on both ends of the floor. The more games Covington gets under his belt, the better this group will be.

“It’s been really good,” Covington said of his first few days with the team. “Getting used to the system, playing style. Still getting comfortable with everything but I feel really confident and we’ve been playing well the past couple [of] games.”

“I think Robert’s going to really help us,” D’Antoni added. “Besides we know defensively, he shoots 3s, he made a couple [of] drives yesterday, getting even more comfortable with what he does. We’ll get more comfortable with him. I think he’s a big-time addition. We don’t do anything that’s complicated. If you ever played on a playground, you can play with us.”