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Minnesota Timberwolves: The return of Robert Covington

By Jake Roberts

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - DECEMBER 28: Robert Covington #33 of the Minnesota Timberwolves dunks the ball against the Atlanta Hawks on December 28, 2018 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - DECEMBER 28: Robert Covington #33 of the Minnesota Timberwolves dunks the ball against the Atlanta Hawks on December 28, 2018 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Minnesota Timberwolves finally have their second-best player back, as Robert Covington is fully healthy and ready to contribute.

Robert Covington suffered a minor knee injury and a concussion in the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ game on New Year’s Eve in New Orleans.

The concussion healed normally and fairly quickly, however the knee injury persisted and grew into a more serious ailment. Originally thinking he would miss a couple weeks, it turned into the rest of the 2018-19 season and ultimately resulting in an April knee surgery.

After an offseason dedicated to recovery and getting his body right for the 2019-20 season, Covington entered training camp feeling good. He had participated in a full capacity throughout training camp and appeared to be ready to get back into the line-up.

As we all know, training camp is far from game action. Coming back from an injury, primarily involves working on conditioning and athleticism.

In the preseason opener last night against the Suns on Tuesday, Robert Covington was back in the lineup and logged 12 minutes. Truthfully, seeing him simply run out onto the court was energizing to Wolves fans.

Throughout his brief amount of time on the court, Covington put in one basket for two points, grabbed three rebounds, and notched a steal and a block.

Those numbers, extrapolated to 85 possessions per game or per 36 minutes are exactly what the Wolves need from RoCo. And remember, he surely wasn’t in true game shape, either.

The Wolves do have a luxury this year that they didn’t have last year, and that’s wing depth. Second-year wing Josh Okogie is continuing to emerge, newcomer Jake Layman is already impressing, combined with rookie Jarrett Culver provide significant support on the wing, allowing Covington the time to work back into game shape.

Barring future injury, look to see RoCo back at full health around early December, given the time it takes most players with knee injuries to recover.

Next. Karl-Anthony Towns' role in Wolves' offense. dark

It’s already been a breath of fresh fall air for Wolves fans to see Covington back. Just wait until he’s finally at full strength once again.

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