The Philadelphia 76ers are finally benefitting from Matisse Thybulle’s presence.
Matisse Thybulle began the 2020-21 season on a low note. It seemed as though he was in Doc Rivers’ doghouse — barely part of the rotation, and little more than a situational defender. Rivers’ promises of “more opportunities” felt hollow and out of reach. Fast forward to roughly the one-month mark, and Thybulle is Rivers’ new favorite bench piece.
In hindsight, Thybulle was never in Rivers’ doghouse. He was instead limited by injury in training camp, and was worked slowly into the rotation accordingly. Everyone on the roster is learning a new scheme this season, and Thybulle needed more time to catch up, both schematically and in terms of conditioning.
Now that Thybulle is caught up, recent games have seen Thybulle supplant Shake Milton as the first reserve off the bench. While Rivers has taken his sweet time to figure out Thybulle cannot share the floor with multiple non-shooters (Dwight Howard and Ben Simmons, we are looking at you), the defensive repertoire of the former 20th overall pick has been on full display.
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In his eight games since returning from COVID protocols, Thybulle is averaging 2.1 steals and one block in 19.0 minutes per game. For the season, Thybulle’s per-36 stats add up to 3.3 steals and 1.8 blocks. It is clear his natural talent for havoc has not dissipated.
Thybulle has given Philadelphia a steady dose of deflections in the second unit, but more importantly, he has improved drastically as an on-ball defender. He still commits his share of fouls, but Thybulle has been much more calculated with his gambles while still maintaining his freakishly quick recovery time.
Rivers has not hesitated to employ Thybulle down the stretch of games for his defense. Last season, we saw a similar confidence from Brett Brown. Even without a workable offensive skill set, Thybulle’s ability to generate turnovers, evaporate passing lanes, and stick tightly to his man, have all earned him an important role. This season, he feels even more trustworthy as an answer to the opposition’s elite ball-handlers.
As a rather loud critic of Thybulle, his recent performances have certainly provided me reason for a change in tune. He no longer looks like Rivers’ odd man out. He is instead an integral part of the second unit, and someone we will see a lot of as the season progresses.
His offense is still a grave concern. On a team built around Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons — two players who spend so much time inside 15 feet of the basket — it’s hard to accommodate a 22.9 percent 3-point shooter. While we can expect marginal improvement on that front, Thybulle does not pass the eye test. He is an egregiously bad shooter, and he provides little else of value offensively.
I stick by my earlier claim that Thybulle would make more basketball sense on a traditionally structured roster, where shooting is at less of a premium. That said, as long as Rivers is smart about how he deploys Thybulle (no more Thybulle-Howard-Simmons minutes, please), the 24-year-old should provide plenty of value on defense alone. He is reminding fans of just how special he is on that side of the ball.