76ers: Is all this losing a cause for concern with Fultz?

Despite his recent ankle-sprain, 76ers prized draft pick Markelle Fultz has definitely impressed during his three Summer League games. Fultz’s most consistent and concerning attribute however, is the amount of losing he does on the court.

Despite the flashes of offensive brilliance, averaging 16 points per game this summer, Fultz seems to always be on the wrong end of the scoreboard. In the 63 minutes he played in the Summer League for the 76ers, he had a plus/minus of -40.

Not only has his plus/minus been bad, it’s nearly been the worst on the entire roster.

Of course, plus/minus stats can sometimes be deceiving, as Markelle Fultz played with and against the “starters” for the most part, generally facing more talented players. They can be especially deceiving in the Summer League, where the talent disparity between lineups can be much greater than in the regular season.

In Fultz’s three games however, his plus/minus has been -13, -11, and -16 respectively. The 76ers lost in his first two games, and were trailing at the time he exited due to injury in the third.

The 76ers won by 8 points against the Spurs with Fultz absent, as well as outscored the Warriors by 18-and ultimately won the game-in the 25 minutes he was off the floor.

Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

These plus/minus figures mean very little if taken by themselves, but combine them with his record at Washington and now there may be a cause for concern.

Markelle Fultz led the Huskies to a 9-16 record in games he played, including a 2-11 record in the conference. In fact, Fultz had the single worst college winning percentage of any number one overall pick in NBA history.

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So despite his immense offensive talent, excellent court vision, length, and athleticism, etc.. there is a very good chance Fultz may never be able to carry a team like one would expect a number one pick to do.

Some players just have an innate ability to make everyone around them better, but from everything we’ve seen out of Fultz so far, he doesn’t seem to have that ability.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

There are plenty of players, even stars in the league that don’t particularly move the needle by themselves, such as Carmelo Anthony and Kyrie Irving. But they are so incredibly skilled that when surrounded with excellent talent, their own game tends to elevated tremendously.

Ben Simmons recently stating that he is “a starting point guard”, and the 76ers would be wise to let him be just that, while letting Fultz play off the ball. With Fultz playing a wing, he would be able to play a Kyrie Irving-type role for the 76ers, where he’s not asked to carry the offense but instead just focus on getting buckets and making impact plays.

Fultz showed off his range in the Summer League, shooting 38% from three-point range, as well as displayed an ability to use his length to score at the rim.  Most importantly, he looked comfortable handling the ball and did not seemed overwhelmed by the moment.

Come October, Fultz’s teammates will look vastly different.

Kaleb Tarczewski becomes Joel Embiid.

Furkan Korkmaz becomes Robert Covington.

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot becomes J.J. Redick.

And the throw in some Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, Justin Anderson, Richaun Holmes.

Soon enough, Markelle Fultz will be playing alongside players whose talent far exceeds that of any teammates he’s ever had in the past. That is obvious. He will get better looks at the basket, better passes, better help defense, better EVERYTHING than he’s had before.

It will be absolutely imperative that Fultz learns how to win with these guys.

Well yeah, of course.

But honestly, how many players have we seen get drafted into poor situations where they spend their entire first contract losing? Then the losing starts getting ingrained into their games. It’s like they get used to it. And can you blame them? If you spent the last decade with the Kings or Timberwolves you wouldn’t know any better either.

As the 76ers continue to “trust the process” they need to establish a winning culture as soon as possible, for Markelle’s sake. Brett Brown needs to set a precedence this season that losing is no longer acceptable. There will be no “tank” talk anymore. It’s time for all these lottery picks to prove their worth and win some games.

Next season, as we begin to poke and prod at Fultz’s game, dissecting every little thing, our main concern should really be his impact on the game. Not the points, not the flashy dunks, but the WINNING plays.

Like knowing when to help on defense, knowing how to run a fast-break, not settling for iso-jumpshots, making the right pass, and communicating on the floor. All of which corresponds with making that plus/minus number a positive one, because at the end of the day, that’s what actually matters right?

Next: The value of Robert Covington

Markelle Fultz will undoubtedly be an electric player in the league for many years. So as he progresses and grows, what he will need to prove to the 76ers more than anything is that his Washington Husky days are behind him. Fultz will need to prove he knows how to win.