His breath stopped in a gasp. An almost drowsy terror stole through his veins … maybe the corpse of some little kid that had died here on the playground. Had that ever happened?
That's not a lede, but a paraphrased passage from Stephen King's 1977 novel The Shining. It's also not anywhere near close the backstory to what is happening with former number one overall pick Markelle Fultz.
Fultz, last seen dominating a DNP-coach's decision three-game streak, has only played a whopping 23 minutes in three postseason games for the Philadelphia 76ers. In turn, a small flock of the human species have begun to question why Brett Brown has chosen to let the talented former Washington player ride on the bench after allowing him to finish the last 10 games of the regular season averaging roughly 18 minutes per contest.
This isn't a mystery. Nor is it some backwards coaching or some form of teaching through sitting. It's much simpler than that, even if the answer is less sexy than a screen grab of John McAfee performing one of his (alleged) preferred acts of intimacy.
After missing the majority of his rookie season, playing in a total of 14 games on the season, Fultz is simply not yet equipped to handle games of galactic importance. Furthermore, with a logjam of talent playing at — as well as near — his position, there's no need to force him on the floor for the sole purpose of doing it.
Experience gained might be experience lost in this instance, but getting Fultz a few playoff minutes at the expense of Philly's Eastern Conference Finals push would be similar to eating a raw chicken because you missed breakfast and wanted something to eat within the scrambled egg family.
A few poor analogies to the wayside later…
“Fultz can play off- and on-ball.” At least that's what an astute reader will say when positions are brought up for a team that's intentionally designed to play talent without traditional position tags labeled on them.
Ben Simmons is the playmaker; J.J. Redick the veteran shooter, Dario Saric a heroic and underrated key cog; Robert Covington the diamond in the rough turned jewel of the city; Joel Embiid the charismatic dynamo; and so on.
Perhaps, though, the “so on” — normally the afterthought of the conversation — is the area where people should end the Fultz's DNP questions at. Sure, it is a remote and cold area, much like The Overlook Hotel alluded to in the lede, but it's the main reason Sixers head coach Brett Brown can afford the luxury of sitting a number one overall pick.
The 76ers, who had one of the best starting five in terms relative to on/off all season, happen to have a decent enough bench. More specifically, guys currently able to do what would be asked from Fultz, even if they lack the inherent playmaking ability he would bring to the table.
That's right, friends. We're talking about a trio of humans usually reserved to being at the wrong side of jokes — because someone has to be at the wrong side of Philly-related jokes.
T.J. McConnell, Marco Belinelli and Justin Anderson, with the latter of three certainly being the most wayward, are operating in the “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” reality of 76ers basketball. A place in space and time where the best talent riding the bench has the most disposable minutes.
Relax. It's not forever. Not even for the foreseeable future. Brown himself has already stated he's thought about inserting the rookie into the rotation.
It will last until something appears to be, you know, broke.
Before losing to the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of round deuce, the Sixers won 20 of their last 21 games, with Fultz playing behind all three, widely regarded as lesser-thans.
Obviously, it is worth noting that Brown, per NBA rules, has shortened his bench since the playoffs began. Two of those three players aren't getting as many minutes as they were anyway.
McConnell, the guy most questioned for supposedly taking the rookie's minutes, not only played a dud against the Celtics, but is averaging less than eight minutes per game over the last five. For his part, Anderson's near 14 minutes per in the regular season has been shriveled like George Costanza in a cold pool to a paltry 5.8 per playoff night.
Only Belinelli, and his incredible ability to regularly hit 35-foot fades, has seen his minutes go up or remain the same (for players operating on the floor who have minutes Fultz could actually steal).
Simmons and Redick are playing 38 and 32 minutes per in the playoffs respectively. Couple that with Belinelli finding a sincere niche as streak-shooting dynamo, there's simply no need for Fultz. There's not even minutes to be distributed.
Hell, even the currently more equipped (as in actual NBA experience) McConnell has become an afterthought in Brown's rotation, all while a nation of basketball loving wackos whine about Becky with the good hair getting more minutes than the better player. McConnell, who did play 13 meaningful minutes against the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the first round, is barely getting traction on the hardwood.
Point being, in the most roundabout way as humanly possible, Fultz is fine. He's still likely to be as important to the Sixers over the course of the next decade as the team's already proven core of youngsters. And yet, unless Brown deems a drastic switch to a formula that has Philly, they are the hottest team in the NBA even after the Game 1 loss to the Celtics, yearning for a world with Fultz starring on a hardwood in 2018 should probably take a backseat to logistics and common sense.
Let's just be blunt about it: This could be, in theory, about protecting the longer play of Fultz's mental well-being for the reward of shortsighted 2018 success. No one should want that. It's been documented to the point of nausea now, but with whatever was happening with the ooze from Ghostbusters 2 in Fultz's shoulder and/or his mental state, there's a monumental chance of him short circuiting if he was awarded huge playoff minutes he is not yet ready for, only to become the “reason” Philly loses a game that costs it the series.
Could you imagine the blow back? It would be less than ideal. It would be less than Robert Downey Jr. in Less Than Zero.
All of that being said, of course, naturally. Hoopla and all that jazz and a bowl of Wheaties sprinkled with so much sugar it is actually Frosted Flakes, Markelle Fultz can find himself playing crucial playoff minutes as the Sixers toy around with the idea of being a year or two ahead of schedule.
It's simply that, well, if it happens, given the context of the player and the team, it would likely only end up being a move made out of desperation. It would mean the currently not broke Sixers, an entity so awesome people are already confident enough to anoint them Kings of the East, broke.
A broken Sixers would be the opposite of fun. A protected Fultz would. Philadelphia spent the entire year trying to figure the rookie out while he did the same for himself. No sense, regardless of what happens the rest of the playoffs, to toss the baby out with the bathwater.
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