Why Markelle Fultz is the perfect late-game closer

Philadelphia 76ers rookie Markelle Fultz could be handed an important role during his first season: late-game closer.

As far as young cores go, few are comparable to the Philadelphia 76ers. Joel Embiid emerged as one of the best centers in the league last season, while the last two No. 1 picks will both be making their debut in October. When you throw names like Dario Saric and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot into the mix, it’s difficult to deny the Sixers’ spot atop any such rankings.

With such a young team, however, closing games can be a challenge. Most youngsters aren’t afforded a significant role right away, while nerves can often get the best of less experienced players down the stretch of games.

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The role of late-game closer normally gets handed off to one of the veterans on the roster, as poise and control is two-thirds of the battle when attempting to fire off shots late.

Philadelphia doesn’t have that luxury, though, as J.J. Redick isn’t the type of isolation threat that can be relied upon in crunch-time possessions. He’d be wholly effective when operating in set plays, but teams don’t always have the ability to run full-blown actions in those scenarios.

The leaves it up to three players: Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons or Markelle Fultz.

As our own Roger Acker deduced on Saturday, Fultz is likely best option out of that trio to carry an offense late in games. The reason why is easy to see once you look at the most basic of film.

Late-game scenarios typically boil down to which team can produce more in isolation. While ball and player movement has become the staple of modern basketball, teams will throw system aside in an effort to get their best players the ball when the game matters most. Whether or not that’s the best method is debatable, but that’s almost always how those situations shake out — whether it’s the coach’s game plan or not.

As Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer pointed out, the fourth quarter typically sees a spike in iso-ball — even from the best teams in the league:.

That’s precisely where Fultz comes into the picture.

Why Fultz excels

At 6-foot-4 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, Fultz’s length at the point guard spot gives him a handful of unique advantages in isolation. Not only is he able to get his shot off above the outstretched arms of most defenders, but he’s able to contort his body and finish around the basket in ways not too many point guards can replicate.

Fultz combines that length with elite footwork, using long strides and crisp movements to zig and zag his way into shots — something that, even with his limited explosiveness, allows him to create space on a dime.

He also changes speeds incredibly well, which makes it difficult for defenders — especially those forced into mismatches — to time their contests.

Perhaps the best area of Fultz’s game is the pick-and-roll, in which he poses a myriad of different threats. While not always a purely isolation play, a simple screen is enough to give Fultz the room and momentum needed to make things happen with the ball in his hands.

He was a 41.3 percent shooter from deep last season, but also shot 43.8 percent from mid-range — with only 12.5 percent of those shots coming off of assists, according to Hoop-Math.

He glides into shots with a sense of control that rarely manifests in such a young guard prospect. That control is the reason why Fultz is so well-equipped for such a prominent role late in games — even in the earlier stages of his career.

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Poise isn’t something you see often with rookie point guards. Most players of Fultz’s ilk need time to comprehend just how far their athleticism can take them, while others make rushed and ill-advised decisions on the basis of inexperience alone.

Fultz didn’t show those problems at Washington. He elevated above his competition more often than not, while showcasing the type of fluid, mistake-free offensive repertoire that should translate into immediate success at the next level.

His turnover rate was high at times, but that can be attributed to volume and a lack of help more so than poor decision making. Control isn’t easy for young guards to master, and Fultz has already shown a knack for minimizing mistakes in an environment conducive to the exact opposite.

What else has to happen?

There are obviously some tough decisions that factor into making Fultz the go-to guy late in games.

Joel Embiid will likely be the team’s No. 1 option next season, and he’s more than capable of creating his own offense when asked to do so. We also saw Embiid go into takeover mode on more than one occasion last season, putting his head down and getting a bit of tunnel vision — which was arguably his biggest flaw at times.

Allowing Fultz to take over games late means Embiid needs to differ, something he’ll have to be willing to do. With such limited talent around him last season, looking to single-handedly control possessions was understandable. With a pair of elite ball handlers and more offensive firepower joining him, that role will be dispersed elsewhere by virtue of his position.

Embiid can’t handle himself on the perimeter to the extent that somebody like Fultz can. That not only leads to more turnovers when he’s asked to create down the stretch, but limits the areas of the court that Brett Brown can utilize and still be effective. The trends of basketball in general favor guards more so than centers in isolation, and that’s one of the biggest hurdles the offense will need to clear.

Running Fultz in isolation also mitigates Simmons’ impact. As long as the former LSU stud isn’t stroking spot-up jumpers, he’s at his best when controlling the ball and manipulating the pieces elsewhere on the floor. Simmons has had no problem differing in the past — and has actually had problems with differing too often — but he too will need to adjust to a different role late in games, even if go-to scoring has never been his shtick.

This isn’t necessarily Fultz’s team, but he has the arsenal indicative of somebody who will be relied upon the most as time wanes in close games. It’s rare for a guard to enter the league with Fultz’s polish in isolation, while his general calmness is something that helps immensely when a player is asked to traverse high-pressure situations.

The Sixers are going to have to lean on a rookie, and that’s something most coaches aren’t all that comfortable doing. But Fultz isn’t like most rookies, and is more than ready to take on an expansive — and important — role during his rookie season.

He’ll have his rookie bumps, but they won’t be as jarring as they will be for the majority of his counterparts. He may be viewed as the tertiary piece in this rebuild, but it shouldn’t take too long for fans to realize just how important Fultz’s skill set is to the Sixers’ success.

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If anything, it can end that mind-numbing discussion about Fultz’s losing record at Washington.