The Philadelphia 76ers have a pair of lead ball handlers in Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons, meaning at least one will have to alter their approach in order to fit in.
Next season marks the next stage in the Philadelphia 76ers‘ progression. They’ll be debuting three new starters, while their foundation finally feels complete. It’s a new-look team in a city that’s itching for winning basketball.
The Sixers’ improvements, however, won’t be the only significant change. Markelle Fultz — who the team selected with the No. 1 pick back in June — will have to make some considerable adjustments to fit into Philadelphia’s offense as it currently projects.
Philadelphia 76ers
Brett Brown has consistently doubled down on his desire to name Ben Simmons the de facto point guard next season. That means handing the keys to the 6-foot-10 virtuoso, which would in turn limit Fultz to a more off-ball centric role — something the Sixers experimented with during his brief run in the Summer League.
It’s important to note that those changes aren’t a blanket negative by any stretch. Without the ball in his hands as frequently, Fultz’s role will inherently be lower in volume than what he experienced at Washington. That alone could drastically improve his efficiency, while affording him more energy on the defensive end. He’ll also have more good looks to work with, as operating alongside Simmons and Joel Embiid tends to clear out more space than, say, one of the worst supporting casts in NCAA prominence.
Changes do need time, though. I’ve advocated for Fultz’s NBA readiness in the past, but that doesn’t mean he won’t go through an adjustment period. Few players were leaned on as heavily as Fultz was last season, which put him towards the top of this year’s rookie class in usage.
The Huskies were dreadfully ill-prepared for a talent of Fultz’s magnitude, and the talent around him made it difficult for Washington to find production that wasn’t in some way influenced by Fultz. He averaged 23.2 points and 5.9 assists per game, which are extremely high totals when you factor in the minutes difference between collegiate and professional basketball.
Being the overarching bell cow, Fultz was relegated to isolation quite a bit last year. His fluid footwork, long strides and gorgeous mechanics allowed him to feast on college defenders, but there was some inefficiency that resulted, regardless of how poised and controlled Fultz’s game felt.
With the paint now unclogged and Ben Simmons offering up another potentially-transcendent playmaker, Fultz’s role will be starkly different to what he has known thus far in his basketball career.
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Brett Brown’s offense is tailored nicely to a player with Fultz’s skill set, and there will still be plenty of opportunities for Fultz to step in and search out buckets in volume. But off-ball screens and dribble handoffs will become a regular part of Fultz’s diet in Philadelphia, which is something we didn’t see quite as much of during his yearlong tenure in college.
Fultz will also have a far more diverse set of options in the pick-and-roll. His three-level scoring prowess has always been special in those scenarios, but with Embiid and Simmons, among others, capable of running it with him next season, the potential for Philadelphia to bend defenses to their breaking point with nifty passes and versatile scoring now increases in notable fashion.
Rather than being the go-to ball handler, the Sixers will look to max out Fultz’s presence as a scorer. He’s easily the most well-rounded offensive talent Brett Brown has had during his time as head coach, and looking to up his efficiency while placing him into comfortable spots on the floor will be the goal — something a player like Ben Simmons will help him accomplish.
This is a new experience for Fultz, but it’s one that should inevitably make the game easier. Simmons is the type of talent who makes the players around him better, setting them up with impressive dimes while reading defenses and making crisp decisions at an incredibly advanced rate.
Fultz has a high basketball I.Q. in his own right, which is a significant factor in why Fultz projects so highly at such a young age. He has the diversity of talent needed to fit into a new role, while his understanding of the game should expedite that process.
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It’s a tough transition, but one that should be fairly seamless for the 19-year-old from Prince George’s County.