The Sixers are 0-3, and when fans are not panicking about the poor play to start the season, or calling for Brett Brown to be fired, their ire has been directed at something else: Markelle Fultz's jump shot. There were no signs of anything heading into training camp, but once practices started, people started to notice a funky free throw form, and even his regular jumpers were off as well. At first, he was kind of mum about it, and eluded to the fact that he was practicing with a shooting coach in the summer. After a while, when his form continued to regress and regress, Fultz eventually admitted that his shoulder was bothering him, and this was confirmed by Brett Brown. Fast forward to 3 games into the season, and the jumper still looks wonky as hell, and continues to change a little bit from game to game... and not getting any prettier.
Since the Sixers refuse to elaborate publicly on exactly what is going on(as per usual) it has been left to the masses to speculate. There seem to be two prevailing theories.
1. He's actually legitimately hurt, and possibly worse than they are letting on.
2. He's not really hurt, and the organization is so embarrassed that he altered his form without the team's consent, that they are concocting an elaborate scheme to hide said embarrassment.
I'm in camp #1, for a variety of reasons. To start, I can't think of another situation in NBA history where a player messed with their form and became afraid to shoot because of it. "The yips" don't happen in basketball. Shooting is a natural motion. You pick up a basketball and you basically go where your arm motion takes you. Does that mean your natural form will be perfect? No, but it will still look better than the freak show Fultz is bringing out there, which isn't the least bit natural, and looks totally like something forcefully altered to compensate for an injury. Even without mechanical corrections in shooting, you can have a pretty jumper. And there is no reason for any athlete to be afraid to shoot. Do you know what players do when they develop bad habits with a jump shot? They shoot their way out of it by repetition. Over and over and over and over again. In practice, in workouts, in shoot-arounds, and in games.
Fultz barely shot any jumpers in training camp, is barely shooting any jumpers in practice, refuses to shoot jumpers in shoot-arounds, and has not taken a single 3 pointer through 3 games this season. He hasn't even considered taking one. The thought does not cross his mind. If Fultz was trying to correct bad mechanical habits with a jumper, and he was not injured, I guarantee you the coaches would be pounding into his head to "SHOOT!" Brett Brown would have drawn up a few plays in the first few games to get him a wide open 3 pointer to build his confidence. This hasn't happened. Nothing has changed, and the coaching staff seems perfectly content allowing him to not even consider jump shots. The obvious answer is because they know he's hurt. How could I believe that a player who was cut in high school and had the confidence to rebuild his playing career and become the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft is so mentally fragile that he's flat-out afraid to shoot? Why should I believe that a player who didn't see a field goal he didn't like in the Summer League would suddenly become so terrified of taking jumpers in a game merely because of mechanical issues?
To take it a step further, in tonight's game against Toronto, Fultz's first(and only) field goal attempt in the first half was a left-handed layup. He had several clean looks at the basket from 10 feet and in, where he could have easily dribbled a few steps and put up a clean right-handed layup and turned it down. Later on in the game he forced some awkward jumpers, which were no greater than 12 feet and missed all of them. He had a jump ball attempt that he went up with his left hand. It all adds up to an injury.
So, you ask. "If he's hurting, why can he attempt layups and grab rebounds, but not shoot? Surely, it should all feel the same pain-wise." Not necessarily the case. I had a friend and sister who both tore their labrums. Both did so lifting weights, and neither realized they hurt it until weeks later after they got MRIs. Both of them waited so long to get it checked out, because it didn't hurt all the time. Some motions hurt worse than others. With a ball and socket joint, different angles and motions cause different levels of pain. It's not a "if one thing hurts, all things hurt" type of deal.
The next question is "If he's hurt, why is he playing?" This is the Sixers we're talking about. The organization who allowed Embiid to do fancy under-the-leg dunks while recovering from a broke navicular bone in his foot. The organization who allowed Embiid to play in a game with a bone bruise and a torn meniscus. They are proven to be incompetent. I think that is far more likely than to suggest they are scheming some elaborate plot to convince the world he's hurt. So elaborate that they have him taking jump balls with his left, not shooting in practice(which is counterproductive to his development), not shooting jumpers in training camp(also counterproductive to his development), not shooting jumpers in shoot-around(counterproductive to his play on the court) and being perfectly ok with him not attempting any perimeter jumpers whatsoever just to keep a defense honest.
BULL-SHIT. The guy is hurt. How hurt remains to be seen. I know this sucks, and it is just another season with an injured first round pick, but it's time for the people to ditch the conspiracy theories and admit the sad reality. The Sixers medical staff managed to screw up yet another one. As long as the labrum isn't torn, I expect him to eventually be fine, but as everything currently stands, the most likely scenario is the Sixers have done what they always do: fuck up a player's health.
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