NBA scout on Sixers' Markelle Fultz: 'I'm like, what the (expletive) is going on?'

As my old fencing master, an Olympian, used to say to us "Practice doesn't make perfect, only correct practice makes perfect.  All practice just makes permanent, including the bad habits".

Here is a video showing Fultz shooting fritos last year at Washington.  Compare how he is shooting them (i.e. his shot mechanics) vs the recent videos we have above.   The argument that NBA teams were ready to take him "as is" last year is true, but his current "as is" is different from his "as is" at this time last year and that's the problem.  He's practicing something now that is different from what got him here and the more he practices like he is doing in the NBA videos the more that will burn into him, burn into his muscle memory and burn into his brain.






bob



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Poor kid. Should've shut him down to let him heal. No reason to rush someone to their detriment whose value to you is long term. Celts with Hayward, no doubt that if he's ready to play this year, they'll let him. If he isn't, they won't.

I never played organized ball except for an extracurricular league in junior high or high school freshman year. I forget when.

I had a hoop in the driveway. Everyone did. I did a lot of shooting during the course of my life, for example playing pickup games at the college gym. So, I have a little bit of experience.

I finally looked closer at Fultz. He seems to have a problem I experienced. I used to get pain in the shooting hand shoulder.

Whiplash is real. Sometimes it is faked. It doesn't show up on X-rays. Maybe Worcester is the SamCelt medical expert and can debunk or affirm my lukewarm take. I am thinking Fultz might have a soft tissue injury that cannot heal because of the way he shoots.

The way Fultz shoots is the problem. He is not using the whole body. He's putting too much pressure on the shoulder.

He might never be a great shooter, but if he can figure out how to shoot without pain, he should be okay.

I agree with Cowens he will be easily blocked anyway the way he winds it up.

I have a hard time believing it's the yips since taking the closer look. It does seem a bit late in the game for Fultz to learn a new technique, but I think that's his only hope. He should perhaps do whatever exercises Pedro Martinez did to strengthen his shoulder.

NYCelt, I guess I agree with you after all. It's too early to call him a bust, but he could be. It's a we shall see, like Sully in China.

KyleCleric wrote:Poor kid. Should've shut him down to let him heal. No reason to rush someone to their detriment whose value to you is long term. Celts with Hayward, no doubt that if he's ready to play this year, they'll let him. If he isn't, they won't.

Kyle,

Long time! How have you been and what have you been up to?

Regards

KyleCleric wrote:Poor kid. Should've shut him down to let him heal. No reason to rush someone to their detriment whose value to you is long term. Celts with Hayward, no doubt that if he's ready to play this year, they'll let him. If he isn't, they won't.

+1

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“I can’t give you a timeline.” #Sixers Bryan Colangelo told us not to get confused about the terminology they’re using about Markelle Fultz. Then he said this




bob
MY NOTE:  Bryan Colangelo has a future in politics.  He just did a great job of claiming to be making his point clear when he did anything but that.  To the best that I can understand, from what he said, Markelle Fultz's problem is no longer medical nor conditioning, he's just a shooter re-learning how to shoot.  If God isn't a Celtic fan he's at least a fan of Danny's and has a brutal sense of humor.


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Bryan Colangelo says Markelle Fultz’s range is “in the paint right now”

7:22 AM - 9 Feb 2018



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Bryan Colangelo on Markelle Fultz:
"There's always a chance that he's going to be out there soon, and there's a chance that he's not going to play this year. I can't answer that question because we don't know the answer to that."
#sixers

7:51 AM - 9 Feb 2018



bob
MY NOTE:  A shooter whose range is "in the paint", but there's nothing wrong medically or physically and who may or may not be back this year.  Wow.  How many people were raging at Danny for trading down for Tatum, because he passed up "a sure thing"?



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This kid's shooting issues may be more mental than physical at this time which could mean that he never gets to play in the NBA -- ever. Mental "blocks" have ended the careers of many guys who have had good skills and even great prior training but they could not get passed an important "issue".

This is just so strange. What did the Sixers do to him?

This is hot off the press on Fultz.

What has really been going on with Markelle Fultz?
No. 1 overall pick has played in just four games this season

Phil Pressey wrote:This is hot off the press on Fultz.

What has really been going on with Markelle Fultz?
No. 1 overall pick has played in just four games this season

Phil,

Thanks for the article.  I don't know if the problem is physical anymore but that is one screwed up kid.  I know some people roll their eyes when I talk ad nauseam about shooting mechanics but you look at his current shot form and you think "of course it's not going in".  His shot was beautiful @ Washington.  Now it's one level of Hell above Lonzo Ball's.


bob


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Hey, Bob. He had a funky looking shot to begin with, yet the article said Fultz' bread and butter has always been shooting. It makes me think of Jaylen Brown at the free throw line. His isn't a physical problem, just in his head. He's too self conscious.

Fultz might have lost his jump shot for good?

I agree it is tough to tell whether this is a physical problem or the yips. Butch Hobson deserves no blame for his errors. His elbow or something was falling off. That was Zimmer's fault for playing him.

In general, I don't usually follow other teams and players, but Fultz is a nice sidebar topic. I feel bad for him. I'm trying to not be a jerk and hope he is ruined. To get Tatum and probably Sacramento's pick next year for Fultz could become a lopsided historic trade akin to Babe Ruth.

Phil Pressey wrote:Hey, Bob. He had a funky looking shot to begin with, yet the article said Fultz' bread and butter has always been shooting. It makes me think of Jaylen Brown at the free throw line. His isn't a physical problem, just in his head. He's too self conscious.

Fultz might have lost his jump shot for good?

I agree it is tough to tell whether this is a physical problem or the yips. Butch Hobson deserves no blame for his errors. His elbow or something was falling off. That was Zimmer's fault for playing him.

In general, I don't usually follow other teams and players, but Fultz is a nice sidebar topic. I feel bad for him. I'm trying to not be a jerk and hope he is ruined. To get Tatum and probably Sacramento's pick next year for Fultz could become a lopsided historic trade akin to Babe Ruth.

Phil,

Markelle Fultz won't be 20 years old until May. Very, very few people are "ruined" at that age, merely detoured.

We're about 2/3 of the way through the season. I'd be pretty surprised if he came back this season with only 28 games left for Philly, unless he made an appearance soon. There just aren't a lot of practice days left and he needs to work out with his teammates to be impactful, not just shoot by himself in a gym.

The biggest damage to Markelle Fultz, so far, has been to his reputation. Being the #1 pick in the draft gives a player quite a bit of credibility even before he laces up his NBA sneakers for the first time. He has lost that and now has to go out on the court and prove this past year was a fluke. If he does, great, but if he doesn't that will impact his future significantly. Philly could lose confidence in him and perhaps look to trade him before his rookie contract is up like they did with Jahlil Okafor and Evan Turner. Look at what happened to their careers when the team that drafted them decided they weren't worth keeping. Turner needed Brad Stevens to rehabilitate his career and, without Brad, Turner was probably heading overseas.

Unfortunately, it does not look like we're going to be getting LA's pick this year. Too bad, this year's crop looks great as crap shoots go. I'm hoping a quality player (Bamba?) decide they'd be better off coming out next year when the competition will be easier and players like Bamba will be the #1 best big in the draft. Not likely, but...


bob



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