Philadelphia 76ers: Markelle Fultz steps up in Ben Simmons’ absence

Brett Brown benched him in favor of T.J. McConnell in OT, but Markelle Fultz filled in admirably for the Philadelphia 76ers in Ben Simmons’ absence.

Markelle Fultz took over the starting point guard role as a result of Ben Simmons missing the game against the Detroit Pistons, yet curious substitutions from Brett Brown limited the effect he had on the game. He only played 20 minutes, but he hit one of his two three-point attempts, dropping 13 points, six rebounds, and one assist.

T.J. McConnell came off the bench to play 32 minutes in the Philadelphia 76ers‘ overtime loss to the Pistons, and Brown, for some absurd reason, put him on the floor over Fultz late in the fourth quarter and for all of OT.

Fultz posted a plus-minus of +2 for the game, while McConnell had a -3. The Arizona product dropped 10 points with an impressive eight assists, but his lack of athleticism and dynamic scoring ability greatly hindered his effect late in the game since no one on the Pistons feared what he could do on offense.

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McConnell has a very limited arsenal of ways to get buckets, whereas Fultz, with his developing jumper and all, still commands respect from defenses as soon as he approaches the three-point line. He’s a better athlete than McConnell, and statistics show Fultz, with a -2.1 defensive box plus-minus, is a better defender than McConnell, who has posted a -3.9 defensive box plus-minus so far this season.

Brown might have wanted to show loyalty to the scrappy point guard, but letting Fultz waste away on the bench against the Detroit Pistons makes no sense. The 2017 first-overall pick needs experience, and he has the perfect skill set to be the go-to guy for Philly in late-game scenarios like they saw in Detroit.

Sheltering Fultz at this point will not do him any favors. He looked quite confident in his shot, so hopefully making him ride the pine in crunch time will not debilitate it too much. If he uses it as motivation, he will probably have some high-scoring outings in the coming weeks, as the Philadelphia 76ers will face the Hawks, Clippers, and Nets in the next 14 days.

Brett Brown has a history of making questionable play calls in clutch situations, and having Joel Embiid chuck up an ill-advised three with 1.8 seconds left in overtime continued that trend. Fultz, Redick, Robert Covington, and Landry Shamet are all good catch-and-shoot options form deep, so having Embiid put up a tightly contested shot is simply confounding.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Sixers inbounded the ball at mid-court with 9 seconds left and a chance to take the lead. Rather than use Fultz as a scoring threat, Brown stuck with McConnell. Brown drew up a nice play, but Dario Saric missed the shot. Fultz would have spread the defense a little more than McConnell, and Brown could have differed to Fultz to take Reggie Jackson on an iso.

If he wants his most recent top pick to develop into a star, Coach Brown needs to let Fultz prove himself in the most important moments of games. Brown playing McConnell over Fultz is a huge vote of no confidence, and the coach failed Fultz and the entire team by not using the combo guard late in the game.