Markelle Fultz, Year Three: He's back! Big....?
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The sixers just one 50 games, they have two of the most exciting players in the NBA, and they're probably a stronger team this year with the additions they made this offseason. Are there really a lot of season ticket buyers who are on the fence until they know if Markelle Fultz is coming back? I personally wouldn't imagine that's a meaningful percentage of people.
I might be the biggest Fultz pessimist in this sub, and even I think this is dumb. When you work out as much as these guys are, cheese fries aren’t going to make a lick of difference. In fact, a boat load of carbs might be exactly what he needed at that time...who knows? If he had Big Baby level weight issues, it would be one thing. Fultz’ concerns aren’t physical.
I can assure you, even if he needed a boat load of carbs from a hard training session that day, cheese fries rank pretty damn low on the list a pro athlete should be consuming.
As others have stated, it’s the optics of it.
Yeah, it's the optics. Let's be honest...if there were video of Big Baby or Sullinger eating cheese fries we'd all have a sarcastic comment about it.
As I said twice in the post, whether the food is actually good/bad/neutral for him is immaterial. It's the fact that he doesn't realize or doesn't care how it looks.
If I meet my girlfriend's parents for the first time, I probably shouldn't drink like I'm out with my buddies. I may be a great drunk, I may not have any issues with alcohol, but her parents wouldn't need to have doctorates in psychology to question my judgment and commitment in that moment.
That is what the marketing departments job is in the summer.....to sell season ticket packages.
In 2013, the Sixers sold 3500 in the summer......in 2016 it climbed to 10,000.....and last year after drafting and promoting Fultz they set the franchise record for season ticket sales at 14,000 coming off a 28-win season.
Edit: I went back and read original post on topic. I thought they were referring to the summer hype and not what has occurred since.
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Though what is wrong with athletes who need to consume well over 2000 calories a day...doing just that? Their situation isn't really analogous given that Fultz has had exactly zero issues related to his intake of calories.
Sports fans care about some really, really weird shit. I realize they make up a bunch of shit to fill up what would be dead air if you could only focus on, you know, basketball, but damn.
Thanks for the assurance. I understand there is healthier food. Cheat meals are fine. Hard work cancels out a ton of “damage”. He’s burning through those calories in no time. Optics shouldn’t even be an issue because physical fitness is not a problem for him. But I guess we disagree on this.
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Maybe I'm just jealous. If I was 6'4''/195 and getting paid millions to work out all day I'd probably eat arena cheese fries too.
I blame LeBron in part for this perception. When a guy is the GOAT while still spending $1.5M per year on his body and playing 82 games a year at 34, it's easy to lose sight of what a normal athlete goes through because everyone should live up to that ideal. Basically fuck LeBron and act like a normal human so we can beat you, ha.
If Fultz' idea of a cheat meal is arena cheese fries we now have more reasons to question his decision making. I'm guessing his previously professed love for fast food coupled with his weight gain following the end of his college career prior to his workouts indicate there is more to this than him simply enjoying a "cheat" day.
Not sure how you can definitively state physical fitness is not an issue with him. As HRB notes, he gained a bunch of weight during last offseason, and there were concerns that he was out of cardio shape in summer league.
https://www.nj.com/sixers/index.ssf/2017/09/sixers_markelle_fultz_added_15_pounds_during_offse.html
Then, after he was cleared to play wrt his shoulder, the team claimed that he needed to get into shape.
Weight gain? This is a new criticism to me. People complained because he has a weird posture but his actual weight didn't change drastically that I know of.
He sure looks like he's got into shape this offseason though, cheese fries or no.
And if a guy is working out 2/3 times a day to improve and it's going well I don't really care if he has fun as a game but <shrug> I can see why some care.
He sure looks like he's got into shape this offseason though, cheese fries or no.
And if a guy is working out 2/3 times a day to improve and it's going well I don't really care if he has fun as a game but <shrug> I can see why some care.
There's nothing wrong with eating cheese fries. I think everyone realizes that pro athletes burn calories at a rapid pace, especially when you're 20 years old. He can handle the calories. But look, Markelle Fultz is trying to be, or should be trying to be, in the upper echelon of NBA talent. He's not just an NBA player, he's a number one overall pick. And instead of composing himself like an elite player and setting the tone for his comeback, he's eating cheese fries in public at a training league that his team won't even let him play in because his jump shot is nightmarish. D you really think those optics aren't important to his teammates or his organization? Yeah, sure he's young, he can make mistakes, but can you imagine other top talents - LeBron, Steph, KD, Giannis, AD - having the same lack of self-awareness?
Okay, guys. I'll admit this is the first time I'm hearing about Fultz and possible fitness / weight gain issues. I think people might be seeking out a problem here, but I'll back off.
But putting Fultz aside for a moment, there is absolutely nothing wrong with arena cheese fries as a cheat meal. That's the whole point of the word "cheat".
Giannis has been doing the exact same thing Fultz is doing this summer. One person on here even made the comment that Giannis would get fat because of it.
Because Giannis didn't get fat last summer. Fultz did. We saw pics of him with a bunch of extra weight on top of the reports.
They haven't been doing the "exact same thing" this summer. One player is a top-5 player in the NBA who hasn't show any conditioning issues and has continually improved every season in the NBA. The other hasn't proven he can shoot a jump shot and can't even get on the court in a summer league game. The latter player should feel like they need to demonstrate a higher level of discretion since everyone is watching them and wondering what the hell they're going to be in this league. We shouldn't be expected to worry about Giannis because he's proven he's serious about basketball, as evidenced by the huge jump he took last year. Markelle is a different story because he hasn't proved a thing.
No, it's worse. At least Yabu and Big Baby can get on the court. And neither of them were a number one pick. Teams can cut guys like Yabu and Big Baby whenever. Cutting a guy like Fultz can set a franchise back years.
We know very little of Fultz's recovery. We don't know what his jumper looks like. We don't know what his conditioning is like because he can't get on the court. One of the few bits of information we know is that in one of his few public appearances, when the eyes of the league are on him, he chose to eat cheese fries in front of everyone. This whole conversation started with Kevin O'Connor's reaction to seeing that, and I kind of get where he's coming from. It's an odd choice from a player who has a lot to prove.
We know very little of Fultz's recovery. We don't know what his jumper looks like. We don't know what his conditioning is like because he can't get on the court. One of the few bits of information we know is that in one of his few public appearances, when the eyes of the league are on him, he chose to eat cheese fries in front of everyone. This whole conversation started with Kevin O'Connor's reaction to seeing that, and I kind of get where he's coming from. It's an odd choice from a player who has a lot to prove.
Fultz can't get on the court because he sucks, not because of fitness and conditioning or his love of cheesy fries.
edit: Not to mention Fultz actually did get on the court so there goes that narrative.
edit: Not to mention Fultz actually did get on the court so there goes that narrative.
In the summer league? When?
I don't know how many times I need to reiterate that players can eat frickin' cheese fries, bacon cheeseburgers, whatever they want (as long as they manage to stay in shape). But it's weird to do that in public, at the summer league, when everyone is looking at you and wondering why you're not playing. You have a chance to show them what the hell you're about and you choose... that?
In the NBA in 2017-18. Even got some time in the playoffs. I guess if you think he's incapable of playing right now rather than just being protected or w/e He can't shoot. Is that conditioning? Is that fitness? That's something else. He can do everything else, besides shoot.
Anyone looking at him that recognizes him probably knows why he isn’t playing. Would you have felt better if he were watching the game and eating a grilled chicken breast with cauliflower rice?
Yeah, so did Semi Ojeyele and Jordan Bell. Their teams still had them play in the summer league because they're young players who are trying to enhance their skills. You would think a rookie who only played minutes in a dozen or so low leverage games would find the courts in Vegas to be a welcome opportunity.
Isn't he spending the summer rebuilding his shot with Drew Hanlen? That seems more productive than playing summer league. We already saw last year that he can play at NBA speed; he just needs to learn to shoot again. What he's doing is presumably addressing that.
The Sixers employ a full time Nutritionist, Executive Chef, 3 junior chefs, a Director of Performance Reseerch with 2 assistant under him, and a Head Conditioning Coach with 2 under him.
They can't be happy to see any of their guys continue their bad eating habits from college which Fultz has admitted to having awful dietary habits.......they really can't be happy to see Fultz lacking discipline with his Sixer history.
They can't be happy to see any of their guys continue their bad eating habits from college which Fultz has admitted to having awful dietary habits.......they really can't be happy to see Fultz lacking discipline with his Sixer history.
I don't really care because I don't have anything invested in Markelle Fultz - he's just kind of a fascinating story. I was originally responding to a comment about Kevin O'Connor's anecdote and I defended his position because I think it's not without merit. It says something, however minor, about how seriously he's taking his career and the image he wants to project. I would imagine if KOC feels that way, then some other people inside the NBA had a similar reaction. That matters.
yabu is jacked.
Yes. The optics are poor. Not sure what’s hard to understand about that.
I literally can't believe how long and fucking boring a bunch of Celtics fans discussing a player eating cheese fries is.
Holy shit just get a new slant already. It's a normal snack.
Holy shit just get a new slant already. It's a normal snack.
Chris Vernon*. KOC specifically laughed it off saying he didnt think it changes anything.
Oh you’re a #hottakez guy. Wasn’t aware. Carry on. Let us know what Skip Bayless has to say on it.
You can, ya know, not read the thread.
A player with HUGE question marks about his work ethic and ability to even get on the court at the NBA level is eating cheese fries at summer league and not playing.
You know what, never mind. This is fine. I hope the rest of the 76ers are taking the offseason as lackadaisically. Reports from Hanlans camp are he starts at 12:30? Lots of time for cheese fries in the AM.
They aren’t even a top 5 stadium food. Poor choices all around.
While I agree with your overall assault on London being too sensitive about Sixers criticism, in this case I think it’s justified. People are either bored or just way to sensitive/looking for shit. It’s a fucking plate of French fries and cheese. 98% of people don’t even know what the Vegas league is, let alone what Fultz looks like; who gives a shit? It’s not like he was rolling around in a kiddie pool filled with lard. As someone noted, we just got a string of tweets from Giannis showing him eating a bunch of crap. Fultz’s issue isn’t weight - whether he put some on or not since college -stop piling on him. Jesus Christ.
Think whatever you’d like. If Tatum had been drafted, couldn’t get on the court for a myriad of reasons, STILL couldn’t get on the court for god knows what at this point and then was seen court-side at summer league housing junk food I wouldn’t be thrilled.
Hell just look at the Williams thread to see overreactions spreading to Celtics players.
Hell just look at the Williams thread to see overreactions spreading to Celtics players.
Thank you for the permission. And I’ve stopped going into the Williams thread for exactly the same reason. And all the OTA Patriots threads or ones about the demise of TB /RK/BB. People are getting a tad over dramatic about nonsense click bait fodder, imo.
He’s not on the court because here’s no sense in embarrassing the kid more and nothing to gain from it. His head is fucked up and his shoulder may/may not be still an issue. Summer league isn’t the place to fix either. Conflating the two is looking for something to be critical about. There’s no ‘optics’. Nobody pays attention to summer league and he’s a 20 yo kid. Not everyone is TB and eats avocado ice cream. I’m pretty sure Gronk pounding a twelve pack of bud lite on his cruise boat after missing half a season ranks higher on the list.
He’s not on the court because here’s no sense in embarrassing the kid more and nothing to gain from it. His head is fucked up and his shoulder may/may not be still an issue. Summer league isn’t the place to fix either. Conflating the two is looking for something to be critical about. There’s no ‘optics’. Nobody pays attention to summer league and he’s a 20 yo kid. Not everyone is TB and eats avocado ice cream. I’m pretty sure Gronk pounding a twelve pack of bud lite on his cruise boat after missing half a season ranks higher on the list.
No one is being over dramatic. I said it looks bad. Is there even an argument that’s not the case? I don’t care either way and I think he’s in trouble career wise for reasons way beyond this but man, this is a bad look.
DA took Fultz out for Chick Fil A after his pre-draft workout. What would the nutritionists have said?