Booing Robert Covington is Stupid

Twelve seconds into last night’s Sixers matchup against the Timberwolves, Robert Covington eyed an open three, shot, and missed. The boos rained down:

The boos were a response to Covington’s latest stretch of shooting woes, which have lasted this entire season. Cov is shooting 27.8% from long range this year on 6 attempts per game, down from 35.3% on 7.2 attempts last season (and 37.4% on 6.4 attempts the season before). Last night, RoCo was 1 for 9 from downtown.

I’m not here to police fandom. I hate when people do that. And yes, with the way he’s been shooting, Covington should be taking fewer threes, driving more, and finishing at the rim (he’s shooting 49.5% on shots within eight feet of the rim and taking more shots there per game than ever before). He’s also averaging career highs in steals, blocks, and offensive rebounds. He’s tied with Draymond Green for the league lead in pass deflections per game. Among forwards who defend at least 10 shots a game, his opponents have the 16th lowest FG% in the league. He’s 13th in steals per game, and 15th in blocks per game (for players under 6’10”). He’s no scrub.

Stats are boring, but those are all there to dispute the booers #1 reason for booing: Lack of effort. If Covington was out there falling asleep on defense, boo away. But that’s not the case. And twelve seconds in the game? That’s hacky.

There are three reasons in my book that make booing a home player reasonable: Lack of effort, complete incompetence, and shittiness as a person. So yes, you can boo Jahlil Okafor when he doesn’t defend, because that’s lack of effort. You can boo Nelson Agholor who he drops passes because he has one job and that’s complete incompetence. You can boo Greg Hardy or Josh Brown or Joe Mixon or even Dorial Green-Beckham (or Jalen Mills).

But the mountain of boos heard last night (mostly from the second level, mostly from behind the basket the Sixers shot on in the first half) was embarrassing. Sixers up 22:

A 22-point lead, which vanished when Embiid left the game and Jahlil Okafor came in, and you’re booing? Of course the cheers come down when Covington hits a game-winning shot, as they should (as immortalized by Titanic Hoops and starring Shamus Clancy and I):

But if he didn’t hit that shot? If he missed, or someone else took it? Covington still put up a double-double with a block and four steals while most of the team plays olé defense. He held Andrew Wiggins – a growing star in this league – to 2 for 15 shooting (and 0 for 3 from long distance). Basketball is not only offense. It’s not only points per game. When Covington’s shot isn’t falling, it’s ugly. But when a quarter of the arena is loudly booing the team’s best defensive player, it’s misguided at best.

After the game, Nerlens Noel discussed the booing with a smile, saying it’s a “love-hate” relationship. Covington told Molly Sullivan on the court that no matter what the fans do, he’s gonna play his hardest. In the locker room, Cov said it shows how “dynamic” he is as a person. It makes a lot more sense to say he’s a dynamic player, but to keep fighting on D and playing hard for the team, even when fans are ragging on you the entire way, is something you want in a player.

Two sounds originated from the same general area last night: Covington’s boos and a loud “Trust the Process” chant. If you were doing both, you were lying through one.