National Basketball Association

Brett Brown Defense Part I: Robert Covington Priority

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 2:17 a.m. ET

Fansided, Bret Stuter/FanSided via The Sixer Sense

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown is not wavering on the commitment to solid NBA defense for the Philadelphia 76ers. In Part I: We look at the contribution of Robert Covington to team.

Let’s face it, the Philadelphia 76ers head coach loves defense. In fact, Brett Brown has more admiration for defense in the NBA than practically any other player attribute. Engage him in conversation about the Philadelphia 76ers, or the NBA in general, and you will invariably find yourself talking about NBA defense.

You might say, it’s in his blood.

So it falls to reason that the outcry over Robert Covington’s prolonged shooting slump this season will not be the same priority to the head coach as it is to the fans. Robert Covington drew Timberwolves Andrew Wiggins as his defensive assignment. Wiggins finished with 8 points. Covington finished with 13.

Advantage 76ers.

Wings – Band on the Run

NBA defense is a quality nobody values, until you no longer have it. As a matter of fact, it’s not the easiest statistic to track whatsover. Points are countable. So are rebounds, blocks, assists and steals.

But what measures are readily available to a defense so stalwart that the player never takes the shot? How do you track the average points scored by a player versus the offense he just put up against your team? Brown loves coaching two-way players. They deliver on both sides of the court.

Last season, our wings were Broken. This year, the combination of Gerald Henderson and Robert Covington shows some signs of life in defending. Brett Brown has never coached a team better than 20th in the NBA in points surrendered. Right now, the battered and outmanned Philadelphia 76ers are tied in the NBA for 21st defense.

Covington scored the game winner last night on a beautifully designed play. But without his defense on Wiggins the entire contest, those two points would simply have been too little too late.