Markelle Fultz impending return still remains the annual mystery to uncover within the Philadelphia 76ers franchise, but to head coach Brett Brown, it's much more complex than that.
Brown noted that for Fultz to return, he would have to not only be cleared by doctors for activity, but also be able to show a consistent stroke from the free-throw and three-point line.
“We are all going to go to the free-throw line and say, ‘Does it sort of pass the eye test?’ ” Brown said Thursday night, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s not there, yet. Everything is moving forward. But it’s not anything we are going to rush.”
The top overall pick of this year's draft has been sidelined with scapular muscle imbalance in his right shoulder since Oct. 24, having played only four games coming off the bench.
Fultz has yet to attempt a single three-point shot through his professional career, due to the constant pain in his shoulder, and has only managed to hit six of his first 12 free-throw attempts.
“There needs to be a tremendous confidence level that he has,” Brown said, “and a health-related confidence that our medical people have. As far as a timeline to what that all means, we don’t know.”
The Washington product shot a blistering 42 percent from deep as a freshman in college, but given the nature of the stress put on one's core to launch from deep, his three-point acumen will be likely the last thing to address through the recovery process.
The Sixers have been extra careful dealing with their rookies injuries (and boy have they had some experience with that), so it's likely they will keep him watching film and doing the necessary work in the gym while he fully recovers.
“He’s going great in relation to all the practice that we’ve had to nurture young guys that have been injured,” Brown said.
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