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Few people in the arena were ready to face anything important before Friday night's preparatory clash between the Sixers and Melbourne United. With all due respect to the Australian team that has come a long way to participate in the event, the talent gap was considerable and the outcome never really doubted. It does not make a sexy story or an opportunity for fans to show up.
Brett Brown breathed life into everyone with his pre-game proclamation that Markelle Fultz was going to start, and his long explanation told everyone that this look could be here to stay.
"What's the pace of how I'm going to play these guys? For me, it's as important as everything about the pre-season, the matches we have," Brown told reporters. "I feel that I would rather try such things now, and learn, and feel them.I am not married to that, but I certainly hope to continue if that produces what I think that it has a chance to produce everything is still fluid, but you must have a starting point, and that's mine. "
The head coach referred to the excellent training camp of Fultz, the professionalism of the man he had moved (JJ Redick) and the wisdom that he had collected from Manu Ginobili and Gregg Popovich before making his decision. But in the end, all this amounts to a simple reality: the Six in pursuit of a higher cap to argue with the contenders at the East Conference and the growth of Fultz is the way the most direct that they can borrow without outside help.
What have we seen of Fultz and his teammates against a weak opponent? Some really positive flashes and some disturbing trends to watch.
Synergy with Simmons
The jump shot is the first thing that comes to mind if you're talking about Fultz, but the Sixers made you forget that this could be a potential problem with how they would work in the beginning. Ben Simmons dominated the ball for much of the start of the match, and when the mismatches became evident to the young Australian, Fultz was happy to collect easy points in the basket.
One of the main concerns raised about this potential partnership was the possibility of coexistence of two supposed "playmakers". This is a slightly archaic way of thinking about basketball in 2018, but there is some truth to it. How do two perimeter players used to dominate the ball coexist, especially when their jumps are major points of questioning?
Simmons admitted that it had not happened naturally all night while he was getting rid of the rust of the off season, but the Fultz style of play facilitates the integration of another big piece at the rotation.
"The way he plays the game is altruistic – he can go up to the brink, always trying to play the game the right way," said Simmons. "He likes to push the ball, which I like to do, so playing with him is very easy."
"It made things a lot easier, defense, offensive, it was comfortable, when you have a playmaker like that and a 6-foot-10 goalkeeper it makes things easier," he said. said Fultz about playing with Simmons. "You can run on the ground and know you're going to get the ball if you're open, and on the defensive side, if your man goes, you know you have some help with him and Joel. made everything a little more comfortable for me. "
As in their long series of victories to close the season, the real benefit of Fultz's return will be to allow Brown to shift his playmakers so that at least one of them stays on the ground at all times. Sixers can create different kinds of queues around their skills. While both need fencers around them, Simmons' first match is more dependent on the presence of his opponents, while Fultz is responsible for taking himself more charge.
Unfortunately, a thigh problem at Wilson Chandler limited the flexibility of the range that the Sixers hoped to have, so we could not see the diversity that we might have otherwise. But the two leading dogs were in the mix, with Simmons playing four of Fultz's six field marks on Thursday night.
And here is the most encouraging part of all. Putting another athlete in the background with the scale of Fultz could bring even more for the defense, where the duo showed their potential from the first advice.
A nascent partnership with Embiid
In the first minute of the match, there was an interesting moment with the base group that would have been a red flag if it had occurred. Embiid had the ball with a bit of space at the top of the key, and Simmons was screaming for the ball in the post, after establishing a gap with Casper Ware. When Embiid decided to settle for a three, Simmons pulled out his mouthguard and barked at the center so as not to attack the obvious weakness.
Without Fultz on the picture, there were two very obvious alpha dogs of stature and skill. Putting them all on the court will force them to go through a delicate line of rock sharing, and this phenomenon is the reason why young teams collapse before they can establish true grandeur. There are very few hits and keys to go around.
But that moment has dissipated fairly quickly, largely because Fultz was not waltzing when trying to be a hero. The kid who was a one-man-show in Washington was constantly trying to create easy shots for his teammates, and Embiid was the early winner and often Friday, which he recognized after the match.
"We've always had a problem with the creators – it's what he can do," Embiid told reporters after the match. "I had some throws, easy baskets coming from him, so I was excited and excited for the future."
As long as opponents respect the ability (and willingness) to attack Fultz, Embiid will be the main beneficiary of Fultz 's return. Whether it's a matter of running or simply playing fast before the defenses are settled, Fultz will look for opportunities for Embiid.
Embiid would probably have torn Melbourne in both directions, but once the defense is reinforced and the clashes harden, the Sixers will thank the higher powers in which they believe they have another player who can give it a simple look. . He scored 20 shots on just 11 shots in 23 minutes – it's not a bad tune-up match.
(And besides, Simmons and Embiid were jovial throughout the game, laughing one and the other both on and off the pitch. first tests, beyond a sign of Simmons's competitiveness to want to exploit an imbalance.)
A desire to shoot … sometimes
First, the good news: Fultz has not hesitated to move up in the mid-range, despite the lack of success as a shooter in the evening. Trying to shoot is half the battle for him, and showing enough self-confidence to let him fly in the game is enough for this writer at the moment. 14 points, four assists and two interceptions in shots at 6/11 are an excellent pre-season start.
Here's all we saw from Fultz the shooter on Friday night (and I left in a filming sequence in a room that was destroyed while he was following his firing move):
I did not include all the flaws in the lowlight mills, but to show a side of Fultz, we did not see much else last season. The Sixers will be happy to live with Fultz's failures as long as he is ready to attack like that. The mechanisms are consistent, the opportunities he takes are sensible shots, and his body language does not change, whether branded or not. The results must come to an end, but this is another important process for the franchise.
If you are looking for a problem, is that his attempts continue so far in areas where he was comfortable to shoot last season. We saw Fultz shying away from the three-point line last season, often putting his head down and driving in the traffic despite considerable space on the perimeter. That went against his style of play in Washington, where he would hoist anytime and anywhere.
So keep an eye on these pieces if they continue:
If you were expecting UW Fultz to come out of Drew Hanlen's studio, your expectations may have to be recalled. Fultz may have a better and more confident look than last season, but proof of his position will have to wait. And everyone will suffer if it takes space conceded on the perimeter and rushes into traffic without a plan.
The difference between now and last season? We saw him work in depth at the training camp and saw him doing brief shooting exercises before the game on Friday night. It would have seemed like fantasy at last year 's points.
Let's say it for the debut of Fultz – the debut of last season against Memphis in pre-season has only created uncertainty and confusion. His performance against Melbourne had the opposite effect, highlighting why Brown decided to make a bet on his talent.
MORE: Brown puts Fultz in the role of early preseason
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