The story that has been surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason has been their issues at the point guard position. Philadelphia is dealing with injuries to its top two point guards and has a whole lot of question marks entering the season there. Point guard isn't the only spot where the team is dealing with injuries, though, as Robert Covington is out with a knee issue, leaving the starting small forward spot open. Jerami Grant seems like the logical option to take the starting spot, according to Rotoworld.
Covington suffered a sprained MCL and a bone bruise on his right knee and was initially given a timetable of about two weeks, but now it appears that injury could take a little closer to a month to heal. The 76ers have not put a timetable on Covington's return, but they have a tendency to be patient with players returning from injuries so expect him to be back in closer to a month than six weeks.
Covington was very solid for the 76ers last season, as he started most of their games at small forward and made 37 percent of his threes, so his absence will be felt. Grant will likely get the opportunity to start with Covington out, and he is a completely different player. While Covington is a very good three-point shooter, Grant was not very good from three last season (31 percent) and didn't show much improvement this preseason.
Grant played in 65 games last year as a rookie and averaged 6.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 block in 21.2 minutes per game. Grant is not going to be able to stretch the floor like Covington can, but he is likely a better option defensively, as he was a plus defender in his rookie season.
The other options the 76ers have at small forward are JaKarr Sampson, Hollis Thompson and Jordan McRae. McRae is not a lock to make the final roster by any means, but Thompson and Sampson should see a bump in minutes. Thompson is a career 40 percent shooter from three, so he will likely be used to stretch the floor while Covington is out, while Sampson is another defensive guy similar to, but not quite as good as, Grant.
The 76ers options at small forward with Covington out won't blow you away, but at least they do have options. It seems as though Sixers coach Brett Brown is likely to start with defense (Grant) and bring the offense (Thompson) off the bench. The small forward minutes will be interesting to watch for the 76ers when the season starts because it is almost completely unknown aside from the fact that Grant seems like the best bet to start.
