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Robert Covington ：快艇隊前鋒談迷失的賽季 —「我懷著復仇的心態」

https://tinyurl.com/yxvzjmsm (The Athletic)

This time a year ago, LA Clippers power forward Robert Covington was eager to
begin his tenth NBA season out of Tennessee State. The 2018 All-Defensive
First Team selection was traded to the Clippers from the Portland Trail
Blazers a week before the 2022 NBA trade deadline, and LA was Covington’s
fifth city in four seasons. He was already weary of the constant
transactions, but he also fit the Clippers seamlessly for the second half of
the 2021-22 NBA season as a backup big behind starting forwards Nicolas Batum
and Marcus Morris Sr. and next to backup center Isaiah Hartenstein. Covington
anticipated a fun 2022-23 season so much that he didn’t even test free
agency, choosing to sign a two-year extension in May 2022 that lined his deal
up with stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.

Except — nothing about the 2022-23 season was fun for Covington.

Someone was always going to be on the short end of the stick with the surplus
of wings that president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank had
accumulated. Covington was in head coach Tyronn Lue’s rotation in the first
two weeks of the season, partly due to the absence of a center behind starter
Ivica Zubac in the wake of Hartenstein’s departure to the New York Knicks.
But once Covington left the lineup due to health and safety protocols at the
end of October, he never found a consistent stretch of minutes again.

就在一年前的這個時候，Robert Covington 迫不及待地要開始他第十個賽季。


然而，2022-23賽季對於Covington 來說，卻一點也不有趣。



At first, Covington understood the sacrifice he was asked to make. But things
made less sense to him as the season went on. Covington was bracing to be
traded in February, only for him to remain on the roster with Morris starting
and Batum in the second unit. Even when Morris’ struggles persisted into the
spring and George and Leonard would suffer season-ending knee injuries,
Covington’s opportunities to play were sporadic at best. The result: only
three games all season with at least 30 minutes, and only 19 games overall
with at least 20 minutes. It was the fewest minutes per game (16.2) Covington
played in a season since he was an undrafted rookie with the 2013-14 Houston
Rockets.

On this particular August day, Covington played at the invite-only pro pickup
runs at UCLA facilitated by Rico Hines, who is now on Nick Nurse’s coaching
staff with the Philadelphia 76ers. As trade talks come and go, Covington got
to play with younger Clippers teammates such as Terance Mann, KJ Martin,
Bones Hyland, Brandon Boston Jr., and rookie Jordan Miller against the likes
of Toronto Raptors’ (Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes, Gradey Dick, Jalen
McDaniels), Philadelphia 76ers’ (De’Anthony Melton, Paul Reed, Mo Bamba),
and NBA G League Ignite. Also in attendance: Frank and 76ers president of
basketball operations Daryl Morey.

起初，Covington 能理解被要求做出犧牲。但隨著賽季的進展，事情對他來說變得越來越
不合理。Covington 曾在二月份做好了被交易的心理準備，但最終他留在了球隊中，而



Jordan Miller，對手包括多倫多暴龍隊 Pascal Siakam、Scottie Barnes、Gradey Dick
、Jalen McDaniels、費城76人隊 De’Anthony Melton、Paul Reed、Mo Bamba 和G
League Ignite。同樣在現場的，還有快艇總管Lawrence Frank和76人總管Daryl Morey。

There was a time when Covington was worried about trade rumors and extra
noise. The Clippers have a roster where the logjam at Covington’s position
still exists, and if anything, it may be even more pronounced after the
additions of Martin and first-round rookie Kobe Brown.

But Covington and his young teammates played well together, winning five
straight games to end the day at UCLA. Covington mixed in his usual game of
catch-and-shoot 3s on offense and deflections on defense with some aggressive
drives, including a baseline fadeaway that caught Siakam by surprise. It’s
all a part of a summer for Covington that has included playing in the
Nashville Pro-Am, running camps, and staying in top shape for his age 32
summer.

In a one-on-one with The Athletic in LA, Covington spoke about where his
focus is at right now, what he took away from last season, and how he intends
to handle the upcoming season.





Covington 在洛杉磯接受The Athletic的一對一專訪中，談到了他目前的專注點、從上個
賽季獲得了什麼，以及他打算如何應對即將到來的賽季。

So you post on your stories a lot. And I’ve seen you working a lot this
summer. I saw the one time you put the numbers up on the scale — like 228 or
something like that. How do you feel physically right now? How do you feel
about your game?

I feel great. People been trying to get me to do a lot, put out a lot. Nah. We
’ll see this season. I got a vendetta. It’s a bigger chip on my shoulder.
Not playing that much last year really put me in a place — all right. I got
to force them. So, come back, do what I got to do. They say this is the
mentality of, you know, come back strong, get better. That way, it won’t be
none of that. Won’t be no issues of, whatever the case. … It’s the way the
year went. It wasn’t how I expected, but I said it’s come back, go to the
drawing board, and get better.

問: 你最近常在IG上發布動態。我看到你這個夏天訓練得很勤勞。我記得有一次看到你的
體重——大概是228磅或類似的數字。你現在身體狀況如何？你對比賽感覺如何？



One of the things you were really open about when you got to the Clips in the
first place was how you kind of got to be prepared for anything in terms of
moves and whatnot. And you signed your extension. You had what your
expectations were with the team before the way the year went. You’re in
another contract year. You’ve been in this place in your career many times
before. How do you feel like it’s different this time compared to all the
previous times?

It ain’t no difference. Only difference is that I didn’t play last year. I
mean, that’s the only difference. I approach every chance, every opportunity
like that —it’s no different. So my mentality don’t shift, I don’t get
discouraged or anything. I got to do what I do. And I do what I do best. So I
’m never going to stray away. Never going to stray away from anything of
that nature. I am going to be who I am, and that’s just what it is.





You’ve had a few months away from the end of the season. What do you kind of
take away from last season and what kind of feedback did you get?

I didn’t take nothing from last year. Last year didn’t go how I expected,
so I didn’t take nothing from it. I just wash it away and start over, a new
year. That’s just my mentality of it. … It’s nothing that could be talked
about. I mean, I really haven’t had much feedback besides, you know, what I’
ve been doing now. I haven’t talked about last year. I’ve put that behind
me and focused on right now and moving forward. That’s what it’s all about.
Can’t dwell on what happened last year, whatever the case may be. It
happened. So I’m just gonna wash, move forward.

問: 賽季結束幾個月了。你從上個賽季中有何收獲，你得到了什麼樣的反饋？



How do you get ready for next year outside of the work that you’re putting
in? I see you today, when you’re not in LA and everything. How do you kind
of say, “I’m going to go in the camp with with the best foot forward?”

I do it every year. I approach every summer. I approach every summer the same
way. You know, my work ethic doesn’t change. I don’t go into no situation
thinking like, “Oh, I’m going to do something differently.” Like, no. What
I do in the season is what I primarily focus on. I do some more ballhandling
and stuff like that in the summertime, playing off the ball, playing more
pick and rolls on ball, doing a lot of different things. But that’s just
pushing myself to a different area, a different limit. So just pushing myself.

問: 除了你正在投入的訓練外，你如何為明年做準備？ 當你不在洛杉磯，你又是怎麼想
的，仍會說「我要以最好的狀態進入訓練營」嗎？



Have you gotten a chance to talk to T. Lue?
No.

問: 你有機會和 Tyronn Lue談過嗎？
Roco: 沒有。

Do you think that conversation will happen at some point?

If it do, it do. If it don’t, I won’t dwell on it. I focus on control, what
I control, and I go out and do my job. Whatever happens, happens. I haven’t
talked to T (Lue) since the season ended.

問: 你覺得你和Lue的對話會在某個時刻發生嗎？

Roco: 如果會，就會。如果不會，我不會過多思考。我專注於控制我所能控制的，然後去
做我的工作。該發生的事就會發生。賽季結束後我還沒有和Lue 談過話。

You’ve gotten to play with these young guys. KJ is here now. Jordan Miller,
Kobe Brown. Like you got to play with them quite a bit today. What’s your
takeaways from the new young guys?

Man. Those guys are going to be special. I like Jordan’s tenacity, his
pressure on defense, I like his cutting off ball. I like the plays and reads
he made. The other guys came up here and played really well. You know, BB is
starting to get better. Bones is getting better. KJ is athletic as hell. He’
s gotten so much better. It is great to sit up here and see them dudes sit up
here and prosper.

問: 你和這些年輕人一起打過球了。KJ現在也在這裡。Jordan Miller、Kobe Brown。你
對這些新人有什麼看法？

Roco: 天哪。這些人會很特別。我喜歡Jordan的韌性和他在防守端給的壓力，我喜歡他的
無球移動。我喜歡他所做的戰術和判斷。其他的人在這裡表現得也非常出色。Brandon
Boston Jr. 正在變得越來越好。Bones Hyland 也在進步。KJ的運動能力太驚人了。他進
步了很多。很高興能在這裡看著他們成長茁壯。

We’re not in camp until Oct. 2. What do you want to do between now and then
in terms of enjoying your time in addition to getting ready for the season?
Personally and professionally?

I do my work, I go home, be a dad. You know, there’s some things that have
been finally put in place with no interruption. You know, I just enjoy
spending time with my little girl. And it’s all I focus on. Whenever I have
her, that’s what it’s all about. I’m a father first, family man. My
daughter is my world. So when basketball is out, once I’m done within those
four lines. Basketball is off my mind. I go home and be a dad. When I have my
daughter that’s my focus. I go home and be a dad? There’s nothing else.

問: 快艇要等到10月2日才會開始訓練營。在那之前，你在享受時光的同時，還要為新賽
季做些什麼準備？無論是在個人還是籃球方面？

Roco: 我會訓練，然後回家做一個爸爸。有些事，現在終於不會受干擾去做了。我喜歡和
我的小女兒共度時光，和她在一起，就是我所關注的事情。我是一個父親，顧家庭的人。
我的女兒就是我的全世界。所以當籃球結束，在我離開球場之後，籃球就不再在我腦海中
。當我和我的女兒在一起時，我的焦點就在那裡。回家，當個好爸爸，沒有其他事情了。

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心得:

感覺這次訓練目的應該不單純 兩隊總管都到場了0.0

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※ 作者: love1500274 2023-08-12 12:34:11
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