The Philadelphia 76ers have been a team that relies a lot on the energy of their home crowd as evidenced by their 29-2 record at the Wells Fargo Center compared to their tough 10-24 record on the road. Due to the global coronavirus pandemic that everybody’s dealing with right now, there will be no fans in the arena as the league resumes in Orlando.
For rookie Matisse Thybulle, this was all set to be a new experience for him to begin with, but now all of the advice given to him by older teammates goes out the window in this new scenario.
“I think what I’ve heard about the playoffs are going to be a little different than what the playoffs are going to look like,” Thybulle said with a laugh. “Obviously, I’ve heard amazing things and especially playing Philly, I’ve heard so many great things about having our fans behind us, but we’re finding ourselves in a unique situation where that’s not going to be the case so I think it’s going to be new for everyone. Even vets who have been a part of the playoffs just trying to get a feel for what this is going to be like.”
For a guy like Al Horford, this will all be so new to him as well. He has not missed the playoffs at all in his 13 years in the NBA, but that was all pre-COVID times so there were fans in the building and there was a lot of hype and energy in the building. Obviously, that won’t be the case this time around so the veteran will have to try and do the best he can from his past experiences.
“I think the experience is always going to help,” he explained. “I do believe that it evens out in the fact that there’s no home-court advantage and winning in the playoffs on the road is a real thing. It’s really difficult and the fact that we’re going to be in one place makes it leveled out, but there’s also a factor of just staying focused and continuing the grind. I do believe that there’s another level in the playoffs as far as the quality of the basketball goes so my mindset is to make sure that I’m at my best come August 17 when the playoffs are ready to start.”
No matter which way this is painted as–whether the champion will have an asterisk or not–this will be an unprecedented playoff run for any team. This is a much different time for everybody involved and when the playoffs do begin in August, all eyes will be on how situations will be handled with no fans and having to find that energy themselves.
“I’m open to the challenge and I’m excited for what’s in store,” Thybulle added. [lawrence-related id=34076,34070,34063]