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The Philadelphia 76ers have not had the best injury luck over the past few years, but they certainly caught a break in the case of Robert Covington.
Covington, who is in his second season with the organization, sustained a nasty looking knee injury in the preseason finale against the Boston Celtics. Fortunately, the injury was diagnosed as a right knee MCL sprain, and the team announced he would be out for two weeks. It seems as though he'll be back even quicker than that. The Sixers have listed him as "probable" for Monday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, just ten days after the injury.
Covington had this to say about his health, courtesy of Brian Seltzer:
"I had to catch my second wind at first, but I felt great," said Covington following Sunday’s session. "Didn’t have any pain, cutting or anything. I didn’t have any issues that really restricted me. I subbed in and out to get the flow of everything. I stayed in a few games for like the whole time that we played, just to get a feel of going for a long period of time."
Covington's return could not be coming at a better time. Philadelphia is coming off a miserable loss to the Utah Jazz Friday night where they put up a meager 71 points. They're (not surprisingly) last in the league in offensive efficiency and effective field goal percentage (which adjusts for the fact a three-point field goal is worth more than a two-point field goal). Covington is far and away the best wing player on the team, and his perimeter shooting abilities should give the team a real boost heading into a tough game against the Cavaliers. His addition also make it tough for opposing teams down the line to double team Jahlil Okafor and not pay for it. Covington averaged 13.5 points in 70 games last year, and shot 37.4% from beyond the arc.
No word on whether Covington will be in the starting five, or come off the bench in his regular season debut. Hollis Thompson started in place of him for the first two games, while JaKarr Sampson took the vacant shooting guard spot.