5 ways Philadelphia 76ers Markelle Fultz impacts Boston series

Impact III – Kickstart Philadelphia 76ers bench

The Philadelphia 76ers landed some solid minutes out of point guard T.J. McConnell in round one against the Miami Heat. But that is no guarantee he will be equally effective off the bench against the Celtics.  In the recent past, the Sixers bench had struggled. While the team added Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova, the return of Markelle Fultz to the lineup served as a catalyst.  Fultz arrived and immediately went to work distributing, scoring, rebounding, and defending.

With Fultz’s presence, the bench seemed to elevate their game to rival that of the starters. No longer predictable as to who had the ball, Fultz created a flurry of opportunities for the open man. And with Philadelphia shooters, an open man typically results in points.

With the series against the Boston Celtics, you can bet they will be prepared for anything and everything they’d faced in the past. In any hotly contested rivalry, the best-of-seven can be decided by a dominating star who rises to the occasion, or an unexpected rise from among the ranks of the didn’t-see-that-coming.  While this is Embiid’s moment to shine, the focus on the starting five could leave a door wide open for Markelle’s magic.

And Markelle Fultz only needs one good game to change the entire course of this series.