Sixers Unsure About Robert Covington’s Status as Season Winds Down

Robert Covington’s return to the Philadelphia 76ers hasn’t gone as planned for both parties.

With Covington having an inconsistent role on the Los Angeles Clippers, he hoped to find some stability in Nick Nurse’s rotation out in Philly, following an early-season trade.

Meanwhile, the Sixers were confident that Covington could be a reliable veteran wing on a team that certainly needed his two-way skillset. For 26 games, the Sixers benefitted from 16 minutes of Covington per outing.

Unfortunately, Covington’s December 30 performance against the Chicago Bulls was the last time he suited up and took the court for the Sixers.

When the Sixers pay a visit to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, Covington will miss his 43rd consecutive game. As he’s been dealing with a knee bruise, Covington hasn’t had the chance to ramp up for a return at this point. When Sixers officials offered an update in early March, Covington was hoping to begin on-court activities soon.

With March concluding in the coming days, Covington remains off the court as he missed another practice on Thursday morning and is set to miss Friday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Ahead of Wednesday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, head coach Nick Nurse addressed the state of Covington’s setback. While the team isn’t set on making a decision about whether or not Covington will play again during the regular season, Nurse is hopeful.

“Cov is progressing a little bit,” the head coach told reporters. “Looks like he could make a return here at some point. Again, we’re not sure. All these things are very similar. They put in a lot of work one day and then you got to wait to see how it responds, but he’s making some progress.”

After the Sixers wrap up a Friday night matchup in Cleveland, they’ll have eight games left in the regular season. At this point, it’s difficult to imagine Covington would have enough time to return and collect a significant role in the rotation come playoff time if the Sixers manage to punch their ticket to the postseason, but anything can happen over the final few weeks.