3 adjustments for Game 2: Start Matisse Thybulle
Danny Green had one of his worst games as a member of the Sixers. He let Young get hot early, but part of the blame goes on Rivers for keeping Green on Young for most of the first half. However, it wasn’t just on defense, it was on offense that he struggled to.
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He had four points, two rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while shooting 2-7 from the floor and 0-4 from the 3-point line. To be fair, Green should be able to bounce back offensively, but not defensively in Game 2. Young is too fast for the veteran to guard and Green shouldn’t matched up against him.
Rivers can’t turn to Simmons because when he did let Simmons defend Young, Young was able to pick up two quick fouls against Simmons in the third quarter of Game 1. That leaves Matisse Thybulle as the best option on the roster to slow down Young.
Starting Thybulle allows Rivers to save Simmons and Green from defending Young and if Rivers doubles teams or traps Young, there isn’t a better player to try to steal the ball than Thybulle. There’s a downside of starting Thybulle when it comes to offense because he’s not a reliable shooter. However, the 76ers might have to roll the dice here as it’s their best option to slow down Young and just hope Thybulle hits his shots as he did in Game 1.
The Philadelphia 76ers have to get the ball out of Young’s hands, make him work on defense, and have Thybulle guard him to start the contest if they want a shot of winning Game 2.