Philadelphia 76ers rookie Markelle Fultz will play tonight for the first time since October. The 19-year old point guard was selected #1 overall by the Sixers at the NBA Draft back in June, but has only appeared in four games this season due to a shoulder injury.
Last month there was talk of Fultz missing the rest of the season, but the team has announced that he'll be available for tonight's game against the Denver Nuggets. According to The Athletic's Derek Bodner, Sixers coach Brett Brown says Fultz will come off the bench as Ben Simmons' backup and he'll likely be on a minutes restriction.
In the four games he played in earlier this season, Fultz averaged 6 points on 33.3% shooting, 2.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists. The shoulder injury, which didn't include any structural damage, severely impacted Fultz's jump shot and the practice footage we've all seen does not resemble the smooth jumper he had while playing for the University of Washington. It'll be interesting to see how Fultz looks in his first game back, which you can catch tonight on NBATV at 7pm ET.
The Sixers, 42-30, have won eight of their last 10 games and are currently sitting in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, just 1.5 games back of the third place Cleveland Cavaliers.
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