The Philadelphia 76ers are one of the NBA’s best young teams, led by All-Star starting center Joel Embiid, Rookie of the Year candidate Ben Simmons, and 2017 First Team All-Rookie forward Dario Saric. After years of dismal basketball in Philly, the Process has provided them with a bright future and, likely, a postseason berth this year.
The Sixers currently sit in the seventh seed in the East and rattled off a five-game winning streak entering the All-Star break. While Embiid, Simmons, and Saric have all played great this season, one piece of their young core they expected to have in the mix has yet to really play.
Markelle Fultz was drafted first overall in July by Philly after they traded up with Boston to ensure they got the point guard out of Washington. However, a mysterious shoulder injury and a very strange months-long saga in which he’s been searching for his shooting form has kept him off the court since the first two weeks of the season.
Even with optimism in Philadelphia about the Sixers’ future, it’s impossible not to wonder what’s going on with Fultz and what kind of player he’ll be once he hits the floor. Simmons spoke with Yahoo’s Chris Mannix on Sunday and explained what he’s seen from Fultz in practice and why he’s optimistic he’ll be a difference maker when he hits the floor for Philly.
What does @BenSimmons25 think of @MarkelleF's struggles to get back on the floor? For @YahooSportsNBA pic.twitter.com/cKpmTmTV1X
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) February 18, 2018
From Simmons:
“It’s tough. The position he’s in. He’s so young coming into the NBA and then obviously having this injury. But he’s in a good position where he’s staying focused and working hard. I see him everyday in there trying to get back to where he was and he’s going to do that.”
…
“It could be physical. It could be mental. I’m not too sure about the details, but I know he’s working hard every day. You see him trying to push back, but on the floor, even in practice, you can see he’s an amazing young player. I hate guarding him. He’s so good getting to the rim.”
…
“We’ve all been in similar situations, Joel and I, so we’ve given him some advice, but he knows we have his back.”
Simmons and Embiid have said all the right things about Fultz to this point, noting how he deserves some space and time to work his issues out – whether mental or physical regarding his shot – and both have said he’s going to be a great player when he gets back. Simmons also seems genuine when he says how he hates guarding Fultz because of how good he is at getting to the paint, and that bodes well for the Sixers.
That said, with Simmons already there as a driving point guard that doesn’t shoot, Fultz being able to find his shot again is important for the Sixers to maximize their young core and get the most out of all of them together on the floor.
