Bulls don't even bother to defend struggling 76ers guard Markelle Fultz

The Chicago Bulls came into their game against the Philadelphia 76ers with a bold strategy. When struggling 2017 first-round pick Markelle Fultz was on the court, the Bulls didn’t even bother to guard him.

Instead, the team decided to give the 20-year-old Fultz open shots on the perimeter in favor of getting another man on Joel Embiid in the paint.

Despite getting a fair amount of open looks, Fultz failed to make the Bulls pay. He went just 1-of-6 from the field, finishing the first half with just three points. He was better in the second half, going 4-of-9, including his first three. Fultz finished the game with 12 points.

While the Bulls’ strategy limited Fultz early, the rest of the 76ers were too much to handle. Philadelphia walked away with a 127-108 win over the Bulls.

Fultz, who was the first overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft, has had issues with his shot since he joined the 76ers. Fultz worked on his shot mechanics throughout his rookie season, only appearing in 14 games with the 76ers. He averaged 7.1 points.

In June, Fultz’s skills coach admitted the rookie had the yips, and “completely forgot how to shoot.” The two worked on the issue during the summer.

In his first game of the 2018-19 season, Fultz went 2-of-7 from the field and was benched during the second half.

It took Fultz a half to get things going, but his second game was an improvement over his first.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik

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