Philadelphia 76ers: Markelle Fultz finally returning is huge news

In what can only be described as a major surprise, Markelle Fultz will come off the bench for the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday against the Denver Nuggets.

Believe it or not, the Philadelphia 76ers will enter the playoffs as one of the last teams anyone is going to want to face in the Eastern Conference when seeing how well this team has been playing since the All-Star break. And if all goes well beginning on Monday, the Sixers could become even more dangerous with Markelle Fultz in the picture.

Expectations were high for Philadelphia last June when they made a trade with the Boston Celtics to select the former Washington star in the NBA Draft, but unfortunately it’s been a rough rookie season for Fultz. Thanks to a shoulder injury that can only be described as a mystery since nobody seemed to know exactly what was going on, Fultz has only appeared in four games all season for the Sixers, and many questioned if the team would just take the safe approach by shutting him down for the year.

Instead, it looks like Fultz is going to return for Philadelphia after all, as the news broke hours before Monday’s game against the Denver Nuggets that the rookie would be available to play in the game. And even though there was rumors swirling about a potential return this week, some fans rightfully had their doubts about this actually happening for Fultz.

Most likely, Brett Brown will take the safe approach with Fultz, and keep his minutes limited since the last thing he wants to do is overuse the guard since he hasn’t actually played a game since October. But after all of the frustration and patience from the last few months, it’s tough not to be excited about Fultz’s return finally happening for the Sixers.

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After clinching a playoff berth over the weekend thanks to some help from the Indiana Pacers, the news involving Fultz just made Philadelphia’s week that much better. Fultz still has a long way to go when it comes to proving himself, but if all goes well over these next few weeks, just imagine what this could mean in the playoffs if he lives up to the hype, and gives the team another player for opponents to worry about.