Brett Brown has 'never experienced anything' like Fultz's shooting woes
Markelle Fultz's awkward shooting form has mystified his head coach.
The No. 1 pick in the 2017 draft hasn't appeared in a game for the Philadelphia 76ers since Oct. 23 due to a scapular muscle imbalance in his right shoulder. Though the team says Fultz is no longer experiencing soreness and is close to a return, the 19-year-old has drawn concerned looks in recent shootarounds, as a hitch in his form is clearly visible.
Brett Brown suggested Sunday that Fultz would only return when he's able to properly shoot a basketball. A day later, he admitted the guard's struggles are unlike anything he's seen.
"I'm old, and I've never experienced anything like this," the coach told reporters Monday, according to Jon Johnson of 94WIP.
Whenever Fultz returns to full health, Brown revealed, the organization isn't planning to immediately tinker with his shooting mechanics. Instead, he intends to help Fultz regain the confidence he demonstrated at Washington.
"Loading up and being like Kyle Korver, that's not who he was. He's a wiggly do-what-he-wants-to guard," Brown said. "And so when you go back and you say, 'How do you find that again?' whether it's just as a free-throw shooter, whether it's as a rise-up. ... How we find what he was is what I'm most interested in now.
"As far as taking that and moving a hand or a release point or something, we'll deal with that after we've found home plate."