Sixers Once Again Rave About Matisse Thybulle's Defense vs. Kings
You can't just look at the box score to get a judgment on how Matisse Thybulle plays in most games. Offensively, the Philadelphia 76ers' second-year guard is a work in progress, and he knows this.
Defensively, he's becoming one of the best in the league. We already knew he had it in him before Thybulle ever even entered the NBA. The former Naismith Defensive Player of the Year earned his spot in the Sixers' rotation last season because of his ferociousness on the defensive side of the ball.
Although he got off to a slower start in year two, a Sophomore slump certainly wasn't in the cards for Thybulle as he's left his imprint on games several times throughout the year already without really contributing on offense.
On Tuesday night, Thybulle did it again. After checking in for nearly 21 minutes in the matchup against the Sacramento Kings, he failed to get a single shot up. Despite hardly being a factor on offense, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers used Thybulle in crunch time so the Sixers could slow down Sacramento's rising star, De'Aaron Fox, who was having himself a night.
“He was great,” Rivers said after the game in regards to Thybulle. “We needed it too. Ben (Simmons) did a good job on (Fox), but Matisse is almost better suited for him, and that allowed us to put Ben on someone else like (Harrison) Barnes and (Buddy) Hield. That was a really good adjustment for us.”
At this point, the 76ers are hardly surprised about Thybulle's defensive intensity, especially those who were with the team last season. "We know what he’s gonna bring for us defensively on a nightly basis," Sixers veteran forward Tobias Harris said. "Matisse was working his tail off. Sticking right with De’Aaron Fox out there. I thought he did a great job of just being in his space and being able to guard him with his speed because Fox is an extremely fast player.”
Harris mentioned that the team is more than comfortable with allowing Thybulle to guard the opposition's best player because the Sixers know the second-year guard is capable of locking his opponent down and causing an impact on the game. And Thybulle's First-Team All-Defensive teammate sees it the same way.
“We all know regardless of what he’s doing offensively or defensively, he’s a huge part of the team," said Sixers star Ben Simmons. "I look at him sometimes, and I say, ‘Well, it’s time. It’s time to lock up,’ and that’s what he did in that last quarter, which is great. Nobody wants to switch Matisse onto them."
Thanks to Thybulle's contributions, the Sixers held Fox to just 11 points in the second half after producing 23 points in the first two quarters. Having the Kings' star cool off allowed Harris and Joel Embiid to go to work on the offensive end and pick up a lead late in the game so the Sixers could come out victorious.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
