Grade (A-F) for Markelle Fultz thus far

[orthoman]

I realize it is very early in the season and Markelle is coming off TOS symptoms, but I would like to hear from you all as to "what grade" (A-F) you would give him, and what grade you see him earning by seasons end.

IMO, I do not see the energy/fire from him; I see a "C-" grade guard routinely walking the ball up the court; someone who lacks explosiveness/energy, someone, who, on the offensive end, stands around alot. Disturbingly, I see him "yawning" all the time, as if he has had no sleep. We know his shooting issue, by, my argument is that he's been playing basketball all his life. MCW has much more energy.

So, for example, if you consider Russel Westbrook the flagship PG, what grade would you give Fultz. I give him slightly below average, so a C-.; hopefully he can can become a "B" by season's end.


Thoughts?

[fendilim]

I'm going with B.

I expected him to have a fully healed TOS, but nope, he just went around the TOS injury. But he's been good, solid role player.

[Knightro]

Considering where he was before the Magic acquired him: A+

Fultz went from a guy who literally couldn't even play basketball at all - a guy we had no idea if he would ever step on the court again - to a guy who is playing 23 perfectly competent minutes a night. That alone is a huge win. To get reasonable production out of a player that we didn't know would ever even step on the court again is a massive success.

Completely taking everything (injuries, rust, Magic personnel groupings) out of consideration and focusing only on what Fultz has done on the court: B- to C+

Positives: He's a very good finisher. He's a very good passer. He's very good in transition. He appears to be very comfortable with his current FT stroke. He's has enough length and anticipation to generate steals and blocks.

Negatives: The biggest problem is and will continue to be his complete and utter lack of range. He simply can't shoot beyond about 15 feet and it's a massive net negative for him and everyone he plays with. His FT jumper looks normal enough. His midrange jumper out to about 15 feet looks normal enough. But anything beyond 15 feet is essentially a "push and pray" shot and that's just not going to work long-term.

I've really liked everything I've seen out of Fultz... outside of his shooting. And unfortunately if that isn't able to come around to at least a passable level, I'm just not sure he's viable long-term.

But everything else has been solid enough (and the team has played well when he's on the court, +2.1 NET) that I'm still willing to give him all of this year and all of next year to try and find some shooting range.

[MoMM]

I'd say C, because B would require the player to be a starter in the league and Fultz, although he technically is, it's not like he deserve to be (yet).

[Def Swami]

C.

In comparison to his peers and other starting point guards, he's below average. He's been okay by his own standards and expectations, which he has constantly said is merely "to just play." But, I'm not sure he helps us win games.

His minutes are still limited, so it's hard to judge. He's kind of a zero in the halfcourt offense. He's a solid defender and playmaker in the open court. He can finish at the rim well. But his lack of shooting or any actual threat to shoot is reminiscent of Elfrid Payton. Athletically, he'll make plays that reminds you of why he was a touted prospect, but it's neutered by his lack of confidence in his own jumper.

I stand by the Magic taking a waiver on Fultz. It's worth the small price they paid. But, I'm not convinced he's a long term solution to a long-standing problem.

[UCFJayBird]

Considering where he was before the Magic acquired him: A+

Fultz went from a guy who literally couldn't even play basketball at all - a guy we had no idea if he would ever step on the court again - to a guy who is playing 23 perfectly competent minutes a night. That alone is a huge win. To get reasonable production out of a player that we didn't know would ever even step on the court again is a massive success.

Completely taking everything (injuries, rust, Magic personnel groupings) out of consideration and focusing only on what Fultz has done on the court: B- to C+

Positives: He's a very good finisher. He's a very good passer. He's very good in transition. He appears to be very comfortable with his current FT stroke. He's has enough length and anticipation to generate steals and blocks.

Negatives: The biggest problem is and will continue to be his complete and utter lack of range. He simply can't shoot beyond about 15 feet and it's a massive net negative for him and everyone he plays with. His FT jumper looks normal enough. His midrange jumper out to about 15 feet looks normal enough. But anything beyond 15 feet is essentially a "push and pray" shot and that's just not going to work long-term.

I've really liked everything I've seen out of Fultz... outside of his shooting. And unfortunately if that isn't able to come around to at least a passable level, I'm just not sure he's viable long-term.

But everything else has been solid enough (and the team has played well when he's on the court, +2.1 NET) that I'm still willing to give him all of this year and all of next year to try and find some shooting range.

Agree with everything above.

It'll be interesting to see if we track this through the season and how his grade looks post-all star break. And then even more so next season when he has another offseason to get his shot going again, assuming his health issues are really behind him.

If he ever gets back to being a good shooter watch out because he'll be really special. He was the #1 overall for a reason, and if he can get back there he'll be the steal of the decade.

[MagicFan101]

C+

He has remained healthy and clearly been an upgrade to our PG rotation over years past. That earns him more than just a passing grade.

To earn that A, I want him to be one of the better starters in the league. I still believe he will get there but to award him an A or A+ now is to say there is little room for improvement and that just isn’t true.

[PrimeThyme]

I'm going to wait until the end of the season to give him a grade. My expectations for the first 30-50 games this season was just to see him out on the court shaking off the rust and doing pretty much what he's done so far.

I've been mostly encouraged by everything except the 3pt stroke. That part of it makes me think he is still dealing with an injury, which is something we need to watch out for as the season progresses.

The last 5 games or so not only has that push shot 3 looked worse, but he is not really attempting those mid-rangers anymore either. It's eerily reminiscent of what happened as the season progressed in Philly last season before he was shut down for the season. I'm pretty concerned about it at this point if I'm being honest.

[MartinsIzAfraud]

Right now it would be a B-, he's worked his ass off to get back onto the court, played solid defense and seems to get to the rim. His shoot will hopefully come and if we can put better shooters or more consistent shooters around him then we will see massive benefits.

Only issue I could see is if this TOS flares up midway through the season and we're stuck with MCW for 10-15+ games

[VFX]

Somewhere between C and B+

He has a way to go, but I believe in him to make adjustments in his outside shooting.

For what they acquired him for? A+

[orthoman]

I stick with C-. A "C" is an average starting PG, and he is below that. His 3's are clank-shots or airballs...this is a guy who has played bball all his life. I'm feeling the TOS is still there.

How do you all feel about his lack of fire and lack of offensive aggressiveness? That is not TOS-related.

I wonder what Kobe or Oladipo would say about his "yawning" during games.

[MagicFan4Lyfe]

I would give him a B.

The fact that he is starting and working off the rust plus being one of the only guys on this team who can penetrate into the lane, is a huge accomplishment considering many thought he would never play in another NBA game.

Dude is literally 21 years old and this is really his rookie season. Jury is still out but I like the trajectory.

[zaymon]

Right know its a C for me. I am glad he is playing but every game he is looking worse. He even stopped hitting midrange shots. His awareness and passing are impressive and give him high ceiling. I will be very patient with him, dont expect much this year. Next year i want SHOOTING with healthy Fultz and Okeke, thats when the fun part starts for us.

[Last Guardian]

How do you all feel about his lack of fire and lack of offensive aggressiveness? .

I feel that is one of the worst analysis of his time on the court that I’ve seen.

[tiderulz]

I would give him a B.

The fact that he is starting and working off the rust plus being one of the only guys on this team who can penetrate into the lane, is a huge accomplishment considering many thought he would never play in another NBA game.

Dude is literally 21 years old and this is really his rookie season. Jury is still out but I like the trajectory.

this is where i am at. I cant give him a C, saying he isnt an avg starting PG, as just a year ago he had serious injury issues. he is working his way back into game shape and figuring out what he can and cant do without further injuries. I dont know if the game plan is for him not to shoot much though or if he is afraid to. If it isnt the game plan, he needs to start shooting more to see where he is at.

[Max Power]

I’m not even ready to give Markelle a grade yet. We’re 10 games in and as expected, his play has been up and down. The first 5 games he showed a ton of promise, and the last few he’s barely been noticeable. It’s to be expected since he’s still getting used to playing again.

Based on what I’ve seen though, he can help the team if everything comes together, he recovers and develops a respectable outside shot. He does a lot of things well, and if we as a fan base can concentrate on those things I think we’ll all be happy with Fultz down the road. I’m encouraged by a lot of what Fultz does right.

[orthoman]

Be upfront with this thread.....

How do you guys feel about his "yawning" on the bench and on the floor?

How do you feel about his lack of eneregy/his lack of fire?

How do you feel about his protocol of walking the ball up to halfcourt and passing it off?

How do you feel about his clank/airballs from the 3 point arc?

This is a guy drafted #1

[swarlesbarkley]

Be upfront with this thread.....

How do you guys feel about his "yawning" on the bench and on the floor?

How do you feel about his lack of eneregy/his lack of fire?

How do you feel about his protocol of walking the ball up to halfcourt and passing it off?

How do you feel about his clank/airballs from the 3 point arc?

This is a guy drafted #1

Sure I'll feed the troll.

How do you guys feel about his "yawning" on the bench and on the floor? Haven't seen it. If anything, he shows more passion on the floor than a lot of our guys.

How do you feel about his lack of eneregy/his lack of fire? I feel like you are assuming a "lack of fire" based on your next question - but it looks like he's directly following Coach Clifford's orders. And apparently those orders involve him passing to Evan or AG to initial the offense a lot of the time. Because whenever he gets a chance to run with it off a long rebound - he GOES. He's also super active on defense.

How do you feel about his protocol of walking the ball up to halfcourt and passing it off? See the previous question. Just doing what Coach Cliff wants.

How do you feel about his clank/airballs from the 3 point arc? Obviously I wish he was shooting better from 3. I mean, I wish our whole team was shooting better overall. But it's clear he's still working the 3 back into his normal shooting stroke. I just hope he gets back there in the next year. Until then, I hope he keeps shooting.

[magicman112]

Anything that he can give us is good at this point. He's contributing out there and making plays that's all I was expecting out of him right now.

[j-ragg]

Be upfront with this thread.....

How do you guys feel about his "yawning" on the bench and on the floor?

How do you feel about his lack of eneregy/his lack of fire?

How do you feel about his protocol of walking the ball up to halfcourt and passing it off?

How do you feel about his clank/airballs from the 3 point arc?

This is a guy drafted #1

Were you expecting the guy from Washington?

His 3 point shot sucks. Not disappointed in much else. One of the best in the league finishing at the hoop. For a guy in the first half of his first season (basically) he’s doin pretty well. I don’t care that he yawns.