Markelle Fultz vs D'Angelo Russell?

[Tr1boy]

Comparable?

Both are thick, strong guards, skilled , silky jumper.  But not very explosive/quick

[LarBrd33]

Yeah I hear fultz is similar and a little better.

[tazzmaniac]

Fultz all they way.  Not sure there is anything Russell does significantly better than Fultz.  Fultz is a better athlete, he drives and finishes at the rim much better and he's a better defender.  Russell probably wouldn't be a top 5 pick in this draft.  The Lakers best prospect is Ingram not Russell.   

[max215]

Fultz is generally considered Russell + athleticism.

[Tr1boy]

Fultz is generally considered Russell + athleticism.

Can you explain the athleticism part?  Fultz is a smooth operator.   But it's not like he is able to blow by guys or finish with a thunderous dunk.... actually i haven't even seen him dunk yet or finish above the rim at the ncaa level

for this reason I think Russell, Beal, McCollum (not saying Fultz won't be better) comparisons are better than comparing Fultz to say Harden...

[alewilliam789]

Fultz all they way.  Not sure there is anything Russell does significantly better than Fultz.  Fultz is a better athlete, he drives and finishes at the rim much better and he's a better defender.  Russell probably wouldn't be a top 5 pick in this draft.  The Lakers best prospect is Ingram not Russell.

Not only that, but I think that Fultz is a better pure PG than Russel. I'm not saying in any way that Fultz is a pure/pass first PG because he's definitely a scoring point, but he's just a more creative passer and approaches the pick and roll looking to make plays for not only himself, but also for his teammates which is something I can't say with Russell.

[tazzmaniac]

Fultz is generally considered Russell + athleticism.

Can you explain the athleticism part?  Fultz is a smooth operator.   But it's not like he is able to blow by guys or finish with a thunderous dunk.... actually i haven't even seen him dunk yet or finish above the rim at the ncaa level

for this reason I think Russell, Beal, McCollum (not saying Fultz won't be better) comparisons are better than comparing Fultz to say Harden...

Fultz isn't an elite athlete but he's a very good athlete.  He doesn't dunk much but he doesn't need to because he's an elite below the basket finisher.  His athleticism shows in his 1.4 blocks per game.  This highlight shows why Fultz is the #1 pick even has a few dunks for you.   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA9Uw6Fhm6Y 

[Ilikesports17]

Fultz is generally considered Russell + athleticism.

Can you explain the athleticism part?  Fultz is a smooth operator.   But it's not like he is able to blow by guys or finish with a thunderous dunk.... actually i haven't even seen him dunk yet or finish above the rim at the ncaa level

for this reason I think Russell, Beal, McCollum (not saying Fultz won't be better) comparisons are better than comparing Fultz to say Harden...

Fultz isn't an elite athlete but he's a very good athlete.  He doesn't dunk much but he doesn't need to because he's an elite below the basket finisher.  His athleticism shows in his 1.4 blocks per game.  This highlight shows why Fultz is the #1 pick even has a few dunks for you.   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA9Uw6Fhm6Y

Ive read this, but he finishes around the basket at a lower rate than Ball, Smith Jr. and Fox.

Id imagine he has a higher degree of difficulty due to being on a pretty Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.ty team. Perhaps that explains it.

[tazzmaniac]

Fultz all they way.  Not sure there is anything Russell does significantly better than Fultz.  Fultz is a better athlete, he drives and finishes at the rim much better and he's a better defender.  Russell probably wouldn't be a top 5 pick in this draft.  The Lakers best prospect is Ingram not Russell.

Not only that, but I think that Fultz is a better pure PG than Russel. I'm not saying in any way that Fultz is a pure/pass first PG because he's definitely a scoring point, but he's just a more creative passer and approaches the pick and roll looking to make plays for not only himself, but also for his teammates which is something I can't say with Russell.

I agree.  The Lakers spent Summer League and preseason to try to mold Russell into more of a PG.  It was rather ugly at times. 

[Boris Badenov]

Fultz is generally considered Russell + athleticism.

Can you explain the athleticism part?  Fultz is a smooth operator.   But it's not like he is able to blow by guys or finish with a thunderous dunk.... actually i haven't even seen him dunk yet or finish above the rim at the ncaa level

for this reason I think Russell, Beal, McCollum (not saying Fultz won't be better) comparisons are better than comparing Fultz to say Harden...

Fultz isn't an elite athlete but he's a very good athlete.  He doesn't dunk much but he doesn't need to because he's an elite below the basket finisher.  His athleticism shows in his 1.4 blocks per game.  This highlight shows why Fultz is the #1 pick even has a few dunks for you.   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA9Uw6Fhm6Y

Yeah, >1 spg and >1 bpg is considered a good signal of athleticism that will translate to the next level. Fultz is at 1.8/1.4 while Russell was at 1.6/0.3.

Fultz has some nice chasedown and weakside blocks if you look that up. I do wonder whether he likes those because they are flashy.

No question they have similarities though, in style and numbers.

[Ogaju]

Fultz is better than Russell already.

Isnt the OP a Ball fan?

[max215]

Fultz is generally considered Russell + athleticism.

Can you explain the athleticism part?  Fultz is a smooth operator.   But it's not like he is able to blow by guys or finish with a thunderous dunk.... actually i haven't even seen him dunk yet or finish above the rim at the ncaa level

for this reason I think Russell, Beal, McCollum (not saying Fultz won't be better) comparisons are better than comparing Fultz to say Harden...

From what I've seen, he does seem bouncier than Russell. I've definitely seen some monster transition dunks from Fultz (although most guys can get up in transition), while I genuinely cannot remember a single Russell dunk. Furthermore, I trust pros like the guys at DX, Sam Vecenie, Kevin O'Connor, etc. when they say that he's more athletic.

[Monkhouse]

I think every highlight video I watch of Ball, there's a chase down block lol. This guy is talented, nifty passer, superb athlete, and just seems like a leader on the floor.

[Tr1boy]

Fultz is better than Russell already.

Isnt the OP a Ball fan?

I like Ball.. not sure about his fit with the Celtics

[RAAAAAAAANDY]

He's better than Russell. Russell really struggled more than people remember once conference play started, and his flaws in college have translated straight to the pros.

Markelle can get to the rim, he is a good finisher although he's more crafty than explosive there. He's been a one man show on an awful team.

I still think he's clearly the top guy.