Small Forward Matchup: Bojan Bogdanovic v Robert Covington
Bojan Bogdanovic
Pertinent Stats:
14.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 39.7% 3 point shooting, 86.2% free throw shooting
Bogdanovic, or Bogey as he is affectionately called by his teammates, was expected to be a very weak link in the starting lineup. The general consensus among Pacers fans was that he was keeping the seat warm for Glenn Robinson III, and that little dog would take over as soon as he was ready. Fast forward one career year for Bojan and one awful ankle injury for GRIII, and the Pacers offense depends on Bogey, while Robinson isn’t a lock to make the playoff rotation. While he has been *the* scapegoat in a couple of losses (insert Boston horror flashbacks here), the offense relies on his shooting to keep the gears greased. His defense, while not good, hasn’t been as bad as advertised – he’s simply mediocre and lacking in foot speed there. His effort and positioning have been pleasantly surprising on that end. It seems silly to call him super important to the Pacers success, but I’ll leave you with this stat to chew on: In Pacers wins, Bojan shoots 51.6% from the field and 45.1% from deep. In losses, he’s at 41% overall and 31.7% from deep. Correlation doesn’t necessarily equal causation, but Bojan’s shooting undeniably helps the Pacers offense flow.
vs
Robert Covington
Pertinent Stats:
12.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.5 SPG, .8 BPG, 37.9% 3 point shooting.
Covington was one of the best finds of the Sam Hinkie led “process”. He’d been toiling in the D-League when Hinkie signed him to a multi-year minimum deal, and he’s delivered on that faith in a big way. As a big, multi-positional three-and-D wing, Covington represents one of the most valuable player types in the current iteration of the NBA. He’s not going to create much on offense, but he needs no space or invitation to launch from deep, and he’s hitting a solid 38% clip. Like Bojan, Covington has some games where he simply can’t miss. On defense, BobCov is a nightmare. He’s capable of switching on to anyone on the Pacers roster (outside of Al Jefferson) and has length and strength in spades. He’ll probably spend some time hounding Victor Oladipo, who has struggled some when faced with guys who have both quickness and length. Covington isn’t a Paul George or Tony Allen level defender, but he’s made his hay on making life very difficult for opposing wings. Philly would be happy unleashing him to wreak havoc on 2 of the Pacers most important scorers.
Advantage: 76ers
While neither of these guys are even in the top 3 most important players on their respective teams, their matchup on any given day might be indicative of their team’s success. Bojan is a much better offensive player, but Covington is far more complete and is poised to have a big impact on the series.