Markelle Fultz was glued to the bench on Monday night as the No. 1 overall pick watched his Philadelphia 76ers get blown out in Game 1 against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Sixers head coach Brett Brown elected to go with T.J. McConnell as the primary backup to Ben Simmons at point guard, which was also the case in the first round against the Miami Heat. While Brown may continue to utilize McConnell in that role against Boston, he made it clear Tuesday that Fultz is in no way "dead and buried" in his rotation following yet another DNP in the box score.
"There are times where you for sure think about (playing Fultz)," said Brown, according to ESPN's Ian Begley. "... But I got a decision to make, and I've made a decision. That doesn't mean it's etched in stone. It's always something that you review and think about. And the care for Markelle Fultz and his future is always on my mind."
The 19-year-old scored five points in 13 minutes of action in a 27-point Game 1 victory over the Heat last round, but played a grand total of eight minutes across the following two games and didn't see the floor at all in Games 4 and 5.
Fultz did miss 68 games from Oct. 25 through March 26 with a shoulder injury, during which McConnell emerged as a reliable two-way option who could spread the floor and facilitate. As far as Brown is concerned, McConnell earned his minutes and deserves to maintain his role in the postseason.
"Markelle Fultz played 10 end of season games for the year and T.J. played the whole year and had a helluva year and we won (16 in a row) and we were winning, we were playing good basketball," added Brown.
".... I decided to do it because there is continuation of growth of a whole year (with McConnell). There is a little bit of a physicality element that we felt with Miami the games (that contributed to the decision). T.J. grabbed a spot and walked it down, we won a series. But it's not anything that I'm not open to always reviewing. I'll do whatever it takes to help (Fultz) help us. Us being the key word."
Philly will look to bounce back at the TD Garden in Game 2 on Thursday.
