After a season-plus, the Philadelphia 76ers finally have an official diagnosis for the struggling former first overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
It seems like it took forever. Ever since the beginning of last season, there hasn’t been a clear answer of what exactly has been going on with Philadelphia 76ers guard Markelle Fultz‘s shot. He just hasn’t looked the same since his college playing days when he was an absolute monster. Now Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN was the first to report the official diagnosis for Fultz.
Clarification: “...thus severely limiting Markelle’s ability to shoot a basketball. TOS is treatable by physical therapy.”
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 4, 2018
The good news is this isn’t a mental block or psychological problem that the guard was experiencing. Having a nerve issue doesn’t seem like much of an improvement though. The bad news is that this doesn’t seem like an easy fix. Wojnarowski also tweeted out a followup tweet with very limited optimism regarding his road to recovery.
The Sixers are calling Fultz out "indefinitely" but there's optimism that he can return within an approximate range of three to six weeks, league sources tell ESPN. Timetable will depend upon success of rehab to ease symptoms and pain tolerance.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 4, 2018
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The idea of a unspecified timetable should give fans some hope, although it’s appears to be no guarantee. From reading the tweets above, its clear that Fultz lack of a defined timetable could mean that the Sixers shouldn’t rush the point guard back. It should be noted that according to the Mayo Clinic website, there’s a chance physical therapy doesn’t help with the symptoms and surgery may be required.
That means that he could very well be out for the rest of the season until the symptoms of the TOS syndrome subside by either physical therapy or possibly surgery. Wojnarowski has indicated in the tweets above that Fultz’s poor shooting is clearly connected to TOS syndrome, which means until Fultz starts shooting like he did in college, there’s a strong probability he won’t play again.
Luckily for the Sixers, they don’t have to rush back Fultz with the solid depth they have. Ben Simmons is playing like an All-Star and T.J. McConnell is still one of the better reserve point guards in the NBA. On top of that, Demetrius Jackson has played well for the Sixers G-League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, thus far this season.
Now that the problem troubling Fultz has been identified, neither the point guard nor the Philadelphia 76ers have reason to rush him back to play. Based off the diagnosis and the indefinite timeline for his return, there is seriousness taken with this injury. Hopefully, physical therapy can fix Fultz’s problem, if not then surgery may end up being an option.