Markelle Fultz's awkward-looking free-throw form is more than the eye and the numbers let on.
The Washington native has been a poor free-throw shooter in high school, college, and even during his short stint in the Summer League a few months ago.
The top overall pick of this year's draft has been working on an overhaul of his free-throw form since the start of training camp, and the results were there to be seen yesterday against the Boston Celtics.
Fultz put up a Shaq-like effort at the line, going 2-of-5 from the stripe while wearing compression tape in his right shoulder — which says a lot about where his issues originate.
Markelle Fultz made 2-of-5 FTS w/ his new & awkward shooting form
Full highlights + breakdown of his shooting forms: https://t.co/GzGXdcTSqs pic.twitter.com/qFt7jW1rPw— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 10, 2017
Fultz has dealt with soreness in his right shoulder, which caused him to miss Friday’s preseason game against the Celtics, but he “can’t recall” when he first started feeling pain.
During Monday’s game against the Celtics, his shoulder was hurting “on and off,” according to Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer.
“I talk to trainers when it bothers me, and they get right to it and start working on it,” Fultz said. “When it’s not, I’m happy. Either way, I’m happy and I just go out and play.”
The rookie point guard admitted his change in free-throw form has been mostly to compensate for the pain he still feels in his right shoulder.
“Yeah, for the most part,” he said. “I’m just trying other things to make free throws. At the end of the day, that’s not an excuse for me. I’m just out there hooping.”
While the Philadelphia 76ers have been the monument of mystery when it comes to injuries, head coach Brett Brown has been a refreshing honest take, being the only proponent of Fultz going back to his old form.
“I think [his shoulder] is affecting him more than he lets on. You can tell with his free throw, trying to get that ball up. It’s far out from his body. He’s been working on trying to get that thing rehabilitated,” Brown said. “And the lack of the quantity of his three-point shooting may be a sign that it’s hurting a little more than he’s letting on.”
An NBA three-point shot will force a player not only to use a strong core, from hips, to legs, to calves, to a strong plant before getting the shot up, but will also need a strong and often violent follow-through to make the ball travel a longer trajectory.
The Sixers have now dealt with injuries to nearly all of high picks, from Joel Embiid, to Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, Ben Simmons, and now Fultz.
The rookie is eager to play, and it shows, but his playing future might be in better hands if he rehabs the injury completely before giving a half-healthy version of himself, which could lead to further injury.
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