With 2:54 left in the first quarter Markelle Fultz checked in, and this happened.
Okay, not really. But when Fultz responded with silence to the cheers of the 20,000 people who were at Wells Fargo Center last night, it felt like that. Even through the TV screen, you could feel the energy, and we all had the same thought running through our heads:
“He’s back.”
Fultz paid next to no mind to it. He was in the zone. All he cared about was the Philadelphia 76ers getting a win over the Denver Nuggets, and they did just that. With a phenomenal second half, the Sixers would overcome a 10-point deficit to beat the Nuggets, 123-104.
What mattered to everyone was that Fultz looked comfortable out there. In 14 minutes, he took 13 shots, making five of them for 10 points and adding on four rebounds and eight assists. Fultz wasn’t scared, and while he’ll have to adjust to NBA speeds and defenses, what everyone was concerned about most, his jump-shot is something that may just open doors for the Philly guard and the team in the future.
At the 2:13 mark of the fourth quarter, Fultz made the first of two jumpers. After a switch from a JJ Redick screen he had Mason Plumlee on an island. He took two dribbles, hesitated, stepped-back, and sank the 14-footer. His second was a step-up shot in Plumlee’s face at the 1:08 mark. Fultz was comfortable with taking the big man off the dribble.
His back-to-back jumpers on Plumlee came after being blocked by him twice earlier in the game, and a total of four times. But even with being blocked, Fultz still hustled, getting a rebound off of three of his blocked shots.
After getting into the flow of the game, he focused on getting the ball to open shooters early on. He assisted on three of Robert Covington’s three-point shots, and three of Ersan Ilyasova’s jumpers.
Considering that Fultz missed 68 games, he was fantastic. There was no shyness, but there was hustle, effort, and a couple dribble moves into jump shots. He had just one turnover that came the first time he brought the ball down the court, and he didn’t take a shot from behind the arc.
It didn’t matter. When the last buzzer sounded, there was a standing ovation for the rookie. Fultz being a slasher and an off-the-dribble scorer will make him the last piece to the puzzle that is the future contending Sixers. But for now, let’s just relish the highlights from last night and hope he gets busy in the playoffs.