When Markelle Fultz treks to the TD Garden today, he will be looking to make a statement. After having spent most of his rookie season on the injured list, he’s bent on showing all and sundry why the Sixers chose him Number One overall in last year’s draft. And all eyes will be on him, especially after he went through a bizarre process of convalescence from a muscle imbalance on his shoulder; en route, he saw fit to change the shooting motion that made him a deadly scorer in college, leading him to become tentative and, more importantly, inaccurate in the games he managed to play in red, white, and blue.
Clearly, though, the Sixers haven’t given up on Fultz. In fact, they consider him an integral part of their future, and to the point of breaking up the most productive lineup in the National Basketball Association. Indeed, he will be going up against the Celtics today from opening tip, in the process relegating erstwhile starting two guard JJ Redick to the bench. And, as far as he’s concerned, the promotion from a veritable scrub who posted “Did Not Play — Coach’s Decision” lines on all but three Box Scores in the 2018 Playoffs to vital cog reflects the extent of his recovery.
How much Fultz has truly improved from his time with basketball’s equivalent of the yips remains to be seen. He didn’t exactly have an outstanding preseason; he posted below-average norms on three-point and overall shooting, as much an indication as any that he’s still a work in progress. And that’s just fine with the Sixers — for as long as he’s on the uptick. They’re patient and prudent, a stance strengthened during Sam Hinkie’s controversial tenure as general manager and head of hoops operations.
How patient and prudent fans are, however, remain to be seen. Denizens of the City of Brotherly Love have normally been anything other than forgiving, but they’ve cut the Sixers an extraordinary amount of slack in recent memory. Still, they’re not wrong to believe that they’re finally entitled to reap the dividends of their waiting, what with all-world talents Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons in the pink of health. And, creditably, Fultz wants them to include him in their heightened expectations.
In this regard, it’s but only fitting that Fultz will formally accept his place under the klieg lights in a match against the Celtics, whom the Sixers regard as their rivals — not just historically, but in the years to come. They’ve decided that they need him at his best if they’re to succeed with consistency, versus the acknowledged East giants and versus other members of the league elite. He’s most certainly willing. Needless to say, he has to be ready and able as well.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
