Markelle Fultz scores 14 points in Sixers’ preseason debut against Melbourne United

There will be no shortage of opportunity for Markelle Fultz to prove himself, and it all started on Friday night.

Fultz was inserted into the 76ers starting lineup, replacing JJ Redick, in the teams' preseason opener against Melbourne United at the Wells Fargo Center.

"I want to see what we have, I want to see it," coach Brett Brown said before the game. "We want to see him grow with Ben [Simmons] and Joel [Embiid] and I want to try this early and see what it looks like."

After a disappointing rookie campaign in which Fultz missed 68 consecutive games before returning at the end of the season, the Sixers are hoping that the 2017 No. 1 overall draft pick can pick up where he left off when he was the considered one of the best young prospects in the game.

The goal for Brown is to head into the season opener at Boston on Oct.16 with a clear idea of what the starting unit will be and how he will make substitutions throughout the game. While he would like for Fultz to remain in with the starting five, it's not something that is written in stone.

"I feel like I would rather try stuff like this now and learn and feel it out," Brown said. "I'm not married to this. But I certainly hope to continue on if it produces what I think it has the chance of producing."

The last time Fultz started a game was the 2017 preseason opener against the Memphis Grizzlies on Oct. 4. He finished with just four points on 2-of-13 attempts from the field.

In Friday's preseason exhibition match, Fultz was the first Sixer to score and finished the opening quarter with eight points on 4-of-4 shooting.

"It was amazing, especially putting in the work I put in this summer, just for Coach to put me in that position it felt unbelievable," he said following the game.

Fultz finished the night with 14 points, four assists, two steals, and two blocks in a 104-84 win over Melbourne. His night started out with multiple open looks down low, and with running layups, often assisted by Simmons. He brought the crowd to its feet when he chased down a fast-breaking D.J. Kennedy in the third quarter for a block.

But it was Fultz's jump shot that was of most interest and he made good on his first pull-up attempt with just under a minute left in the third quarter, a 17-foot shot from the elbow. He tried for another short jumper with just seconds left in the quarter but came up a little short, finishing the night 6-of-11 from the field.

"That's what everybody wants to see is my jump shot," Fultz said. "I was comfortable shooting it and going out there and playing the way I want to play and taking the shots that I felt like were open for me and having the crowd behind me just made me more hyped."

As far as Redick is concerned, Brown looked to the past for guidance. He reached out to San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, and the recently retired Manu Ginobli for advice on the situation.

"I went back to Pop and Manu and asked them to remind me, 'Manu, how did you feel' and 'Pop, remind me why we did it.' I've been thinking about this all summer," Brown said. "The things that Pop and Manu shared with me are so similar to what we have here right now."

The idea of playing a veteran NBA all-star as the first man off the bench is not a new one in the NBA. The Spurs won a title doing just that with Brown on the coaching staff and former Sixer Andre Iguodala has played in a similar role with the Golden State Warriors.

With Redick coming off the bench it gives the second-unit and immediate boost by injecting one of the leagues better outside shooters. Brown doesn't intend for Redick to play fewer minutes than the 30.2 he averaged per game last season and adding him to the reserve unit gives Brown the opportunity to keep more of his best players on the floor for more of the game.

"I'm just going to use him in a different way and really sort of tap into him when he does come in," Brown said. "I think preserving his minutes and his legs, and using him in crunch time situations, end of periods, in bonuses, all those things, is important to our team and I ultimately think to him."

There will have to be a certain level of success with Fultz in a starting role for Brown to move forward with that unit, but that success will be determined more by feel than any numbers or analytics. For Fultz, even if he starts the regular season on the bench he won't be disappointed.

"If coach decides to take me off the bench, as soon as I get in the game, I'm going to play the same way as I would if I was starting," he said. "As soon as I step on the floor all I'm really worried about is giving it my all for the fans and for my team."

The Sixers continue the preseason on Monday when they host the Orlando Magic.