CAMDEN, N.J. — At the Feb. 9 trade deadline, the Philadelphia 76ers sent Matisse Thybulle to the Portland Trail Blazers in a four-team deal that brought Jalen McDaniels to Philadelphia. The deal can be viewed as a win-win at the moment because both players have made an impact with their new teams.
The Blazers will pay a visit to Philadelphia on Friday, which will mark Thybulle’s first game against his former team since the deal. In 10 games with Portland, Thybulle is averaging 7.5 points, 1.8 steals, and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 40.9% from deep as he’s taking advantage of his opportunities next to Damian Lillard.
“I’m looking forward to seeing him,” said coach Doc Rivers about Thybulle. “I don’t want him to do great, obviously, but I think it’s a great place for him. I think playing along Dame and watching Dame work will help him as well at his position. You’re guaranteed to get open stuff with Dame. You have to.”
Thybulle has always had to take advantage of soft spots in opposing defenses and understand where to be on the offensive end. So far, he has been able to do so in Portland.
“Watching Boston last night, they committed two and three guys to the guy (Lillard) and so you can cut, move, space, you’re gonna get a lot of stuff,” Rivers added. “He’s (Thybulle) getting minutes there which I think is important for him.”
Thybulle was always a likable guy in Philadelphia. He has an infectious smile and he worked hard at his craft. It didn’t work out with the Sixers and he is succeeding to begin his time with the Blazers.
“It’s gonna be great to see him,” added Tyrese Maxey. “I’m proud of him. He’s been playing pretty good. I hope we go out there and we beat them, honestly and I hope we have some laughs and some hugs and I hope he goes out there and competes like the player that I know he is and it should be fun.”
As far as how they can succeed despite Thybulle’s tendency to go for blocks from behind, Maxey has an idea of what to do.
“Make sure I look over my shoulder every time I shoot,” he laughed. “He’s really good at getting to the ball, playing passing lanes, he always knew the other team’s scouting report, so I know he’ll know ours coming in. He’s gonna play hard; he’s gonna compete at the end of the day.”
The Sixers will welcome Thybulle back to the Wells Fargo Center on Friday at 7 p.m. EST.
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