Markelle Fultz is taking a few games off in the hopes that he can get his shoulder right, and many in the NBA are wondering what took the Philadelphia 76ers so long to let the first overall pick in the NBA Draft get healed. Even LeBron James is openly wondering what the team is doing with its young prospect.
James spoke to ESPN about how he changed his own shooting style this summer when he developed an elbow injury during offseason training. The modified shooting stoke has actually improved James’ game, even making the power forward think he can reach a new high in free throw percentage before he retires.
Being somewhat of an expert on the subject. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported on Wednesday after the story came out that James himself isn’t sure why the struggling Fultz is playing with his shoulder injury, especially if it’s impacting his shot in a negative way.
https://twitter.com/mcten/status/923225885511180291
It’s not a direct quote, but McMenamin’s as good a source as any here. And James seems to have a passionate response to the inquiry about Fultz, even pulling up some video of him shooting in the past compared to the gawky free throw attempts he had in the preseason and early in the regular season.
LeBron also brought up an old clip of Fultz shooting FTs w/ USAB on his phone. "Wapp!" he said. "Look at that stroke. He can shoot."
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 25, 2017
No one can know for certain what’s going on with Fultz and the Sixers except those same two parties, but it’s clear that others around the league are worried about the young guard. LeBron’s injury got better on its own, but that’s not always the case with these things.
