Markelle Fultz’s right shoulder injury that has sidelined him for 11 of the Philadelphia 76ers’ 15 games this season will keep him out of action at least another two or three weeks, the team announced Sunday.
Fultz’s injury clearly hampered his shooting, which currently stands at 33 percent and has drawn plenty of criticism. He also changed his shooting form over the summer, which probably wasn’t a good idea.
Luckily for the 76ers, 2016 No. 1 overall draft pick Ben Simmons is off to a great start this season after missing all of the 2016-17 campaign because of an injury. He’s the leading candidate for NBA Rookie of the Year honors.
Still, this Fultz situation isn’t a good sign for the 76ers, who used the top pick in the 2017 draft to select the former Washington guard.
Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics’ decision to pass on Fultz and move down via a trade with the 76ers to No. 3 and select Jayson Tatum out of Duke has proven to be a wise move. Tatum is averaging 13.9 points and shooting 47.9 percent from 3-point range.
It’s still early to accurately grade that trade, but the outlook doesn’t look good for the 76ers at the moment.
