Philadelphia 76ers: 3 potential replacements for Danny Green

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Philadelphia 76ers, Matisse Thybulle (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

3 potential replacements for Green: Matisse Thybulle

If the Philadelphia 76ers want to sure up the defensive of the starting five, then look no further than Matisse Thybulle. I wrote about Thybulle replacing Green as a starter after Game 1 and it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Game 4 and beyond.

Thybulle has been as good as one can be at slowing down star point guard Trae Young in this series thus far. He and Simmons have done the best job covering Young in this postseason. For these playoffs, Thybulle has averaged 5.5 points, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 blocks. His steals per game this postseason 10th in the NBA, per ESPN.

“His shot is questionable and having him start games with a non-shooter like Simmons doesn’t make sense.”

However, there are two major downsides to having Thybulle start. The first being the obvious one as he’s an offensive liability as he struggles with his outside shot. This postseason he’s shot just 30.4 percent from downtown.

The flipside to that argument is that during the regular season, he averaged 5.1 points on 46.7 percent shooting from deep, but in his one start this postseason, he shot 33.3 percent from behind the arc. His shot is questionable and having him start games with a non-shooter like Simmons doesn’t make sense.

The other thing to consider is that the 76ers won’t have elite defense coming off the bench with Thybulle starting. Don’t be mistaken, Hill isn’t bad, but he’s not near the level of perimeter defender that Thybulle and Simmons are. Against a player like Young, having elite defenders consistently in a rotation will be key slowing him down so staggering Thybulle and Simmons might be their best bet.