Lillard on Covington’s Defensive Presence, “His Style is very Disruptive”

Regardless of the Trail Blazers’ lagging overall defensive output this season, Robert Covington’s individual contributions on that end of the floor have not gone unnoticed by his coaches and teammates. On Monday, The Athletic’s Jason Quick produced a lengthy feature that touched base with Damian Lillard and coach Terry Stotts in regards to Covington’s presence.

Lillard, who has endured a carousel of new faces in the frontcourt during his time in Portland, explained that Covington’s pesky style is something new for the Blazers.

“He just has a presence on the floor, and I think it gives us something we haven’t had since I’ve been here,” Lillard said. “His style is very disruptive, and we just haven’t had that since I’ve been here.”

Stotts echoed Lillard’s praise for Covington’s defense-first approach.

“He’s unique,” coach Terry Stotts said. “He’s one of those guys who sees the play before it happens … and he takes the challenge of defense head on.”

Covington, in his first year with the Blazers, is averaging 1.6 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.

You can read Quick’s full in-depth feature on Covington at The Athletic (subscription required).