The Markelle Fultz situation has turned into a dispute. The Sixers went on the offensive Wednesday, claiming that Fultz’s shoulder was not injured prior to when he decided to change his shooting mechanics this summer of his own volition. The team is implying that changing his shot is what made Fultz’s shoulder sore.
Something’s wrong with Markelle Fultz. Who shoulders the blame?
We have that and more in Thursday’s NBA newsletter.
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Fultz’s agent says he’s shooting poorly because his shoulder is injured. Fultz’s trainer says he and the rookie never consciously made any changes to his shooting form.
Someone is lying. Meanwhile, Fultz will sit three games (including Wednesday’s heartbreaking loss to the Rockets) to recover from what the Sixers are calling “shoulder soreness.” This would be simply weird if we didn’t all watch the Sixers bungle the Ben Simmons injury situation a year ago, apparently trying to bring him back too early, causing further injury and costing him the entire season.
The Sixers also bungled Joel Embiid’s injury last season, misleading the public on the severity, which put additional pressure on Embiid.
It’s really hard to give Bryan Colangelo and company the benefit of the doubt here. We’re going to need some substantial evidence that Fultz caused his own soreness by messing with his stroke instead of Fultz suffering from the Sixers bungling yet other injury to an elite prospect.
Scores Galore ...
DEN 93, CHA 110
MIN 101, DET 122
HOU 105, PHI 104
CLE 107, BKN 112
SAS 117, MIA 100
IND 96, OKC 114
MEM 94, DAL 103
UTA 88, PHX 97
TOR 112, GSW 117
WAS 99, LAL 102 (OT)
... And So Much More
Shout out to the first overtime game of the season, a shocking comeback win for the Lakers over the Wizards! Washington’s loss means we have just two undefeated teams remaining: San Antonio and the Clippers.
Shout out to the Orlando Magic, who are now tied for first place in the Eastern Conference!
Shout out to the streaking Phoenix Suns!
Warriors-Raptors was a blast. Steph Curry was MVPian.
Trevor Booker sneaking into the Cavs’ huddle was hilarious. And hey, shout out to the Nets! Look Cleveland, you have to beat Brooklyn when you play them this season. Every Nets loss potentially improves the value of that pick they owe you. You must destroy them! It’s arguably your most important job during the regular season.
The Virgin Islands still need help. Tim Duncan is still answering the call.
Adam Silver wants to end the one-and-done era. Here are the options for the league going forward.
Old friend David Stern thinks the NBA should end its ban on marijuana use. Odds are players, team personnel, medical staff, and league executives (despite on-the-record comments to the contrary) are all on board. It’s getting the team owners to buy into it that will be the challenge.
DeMarcus Cousins plays in Sacramento on Thursday for the first time since being traded. He doesn’t know what to expect from the Kings or the crowd. No one does, really. I suspect a tasteful video tribute from the team, lots of cheers for him during intros, louder cheers for the new Kings if they are competitive, and like 60 points and 25 rebounds for Boogie.
Josh Smith signed with the Pelicans! Spacing schmacing.
Why is Suns GM Ryan McDonough continuing to trash Eric Bledsoe and his very high-profile agent (Rich Paul) in the media? Being a tough guy doesn’t work in this job. If it didn’t work for PHIL JACKSON and his 11 rings, it’s not going to work for McDonough.
The Thunder beat the Pacers in Paul George’s face-off against his old team, but it was overshadowed a bit by Nate McMillan’s comments. I personally found them interesting.
An adorable story of a young fan who contributed $10 to Russell Westbrook’s extension.
Who Got Next?
Five games up on Thursday. TNT has Celtics-Bucks at 8 p.m. ET followed by Pelicans-Kings at 10:30. If not for Boogie it’d be hard to stay away from Clippers-Blazers on League Pass at 10. Full schedule here.
Be excellent to each other.
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