Philadelphia 76ers: Matisse Thybulle on fast track to postseason role

The Philadelphia 76ers’ rook has a good chance to maintain his spot in the rotation.

Brett Brown has yet to settle on a 10-man rotation for the regular season, much less a nine-man playoff rotation. The starting five is (almost) concrete — Shake Milton, Josh Richardson, Tobias Harris, Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid — and Al Horford will play a significant role off the bench. But otherwise, there are plenty of unsolved variables.

Comments out of practice in Orlando seem to indicate Matisse Thybulle and Furkan Korkmaz as early rotational locks, but Brett Brown has been especially effusive in his praise of Thybulle. The rookie’s first season has been expectedly up and down, but it’s readily apparent that Thybulle has earned the respect of Brown and his teammates.

Here’s what Brown had to say about Thybulle’s performance so far in Orlando.

The discussion around Thybulle and his role in the playoffs has been interesting to follow. There are few players on the Sixers roster with a wider range of potential outcomes based on his performance level. At his worst, Thybulle is a strangely inconsistent defender and a total dud offensively. At his best, Thybulle is one of the 10 most impactful defenders on the planet.

Thybulle can single-handedly swing the momentum of a game with his nose for the ball. He’s hyper-aware as an off-ball defender, exploding into passing lanes and using his 7-foot wingspan to its full effect. He sniffs out weak-side blocks, he’s disruptive at the point of attack, and he’s a better athlete than many seem to realize — both vertically and laterally.

On the other hand, Thybulle goes through stretches where he’s eviscerated by twitchier ball-handlers. Thybulle played the majority of his college career in a zone defense, and initial concerns about his on-ball defense — while certainly overblown — have come to fruition in certain matchups. In short, he’s still inconsistent. He’s still a rookie.

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In time, I fully expect Thybulle to entrench himself in the yearly All-Defense discussion. For the time being, however, he’s still prone to off nights and challenging matchups. The Sixers have an elite backdrop in Joel Embiid, which allows Thybulle to gamble and play at his most frenetic pace, but there are still moments when Thybulle’s defense sputters.

And then there’s the offensive end. Thybulle has shot a respectable 35.2 percent from deep this season, but has been plagued by an inability to shoot on the road. The courts in Orlando won’t be “road” environments, but the Sixers won’t have a proper home crowd either. If Thybulle’s shots aren’t falling, his offensive contributions are otherwise moot.

Thybulle cannot handle the basketball for prolonged stretches. If he’s asked to take more than two or three dribbles, the risk of turnover increase exponentially. He’s almost exclusively a spot-up shooter and backdoor cutter, and if defenses don’t respect his jumper in the postseason, it could get ugly. I’m a skeptic when it comes to Thybulle’s offense in a slowed-down playoff setting — especially as a rookie.

And yet, if he’s operating as his peak on defense, it may not matter. The Sixers have the upside of the NBA’s best defense. Embiid and Simmons are all-universe defenders who cover a lot of ground, Richardson is a top-shelf defensive wing, and Horford is — deep down inside — still Al Horford, one of the smartest and most technically proficient defensive bigs in recent history.

The Sixers can lock teams out of the gym better than any group in basketball. They haven’t always played up to that potential this season, but a rejuvenated group in Orlando could give the league issues. Thybulle is a big part of that upside — the NBA’s most deflection-happy player, and another versatile body to switch around the perimeter.

If Thybulle can perform up to par defensively, he deserves a very prominent spot in the rotation. I’m not sold on him doing so as a rookie, but it appears Brown and company are — at least for the time being. Thybulle is “elite” on defense. That’s not a flippant comment from Brown. We shall see if he lives up to the reputation in Orlando.