The Philadelphia 76ers will travel to Boston to take on the Celtics as part of the NBA’s Christmas Day slate. While Boston has not been kind to Philly in the times they’ve traveled there recently, the Sixers will at least get something of a boost with the return of Markelle Fultz … kind of. Fultz isn’t going to play, but for the first time in a few weeks, the second-year guard is with the team instead of rehabbing in Los Angeles.
Fultz has been working to get to 100 percent following his diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome, which is believed to be at the center of his shooting woes. While he’s going to return to L.A. to continue his rehab, Fultz is spending Christmas with his teammates.
As for what the future holds for Fultz, Adrian Wojnarowski shared some encouraging nuggets during an appearance on ESPN. Wojnarowski revealed that there has been improvement with Fultz’s range of motion as he’s gone through rehab, and that the expectation is that he will, indeed, play again this season.
https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1077668580706209792
“Raymond Brothers and Markelle Fultz expect that he’s going to play again this season,” Wojnarowski said. “Elton Brand, the Sixers GM, said a couple days ago he was unsure whether they would get him back, but Brothers said to me he wants him back 100 percent.”
Going further, the trade rumblings that have seemed to constantly surround Fultz this season might be for naught, as the Sixers are taking a wait-and-see approach.
“Philadelphia has fielded calls from teams who have interest in trading for Markelle Fultz, but they’re holding onto him,” Wojnarowski said. “They wanna see how this rehab process goes and what he is when he returns to this team.”
A potential timetable for Fultz’s return is still unknown, but at least there’s something of a light at the end of this long and winding tunnel. Unless, of course, he still struggles to shoot upon returning to the team, at which point we’ll get to do this all again. Let’s hope for his sake that’s not the case.
