It is not easy to step in for your NBA Playoff debut and have to defend one of the best offensive players in the game. That is exactly what Philadelphia 76ers rookie Matisse Thybulle had to do on Monday against the Boston Celtics.
Boston All-Star Jayson Tatum scored 32 points in the Celtics Game 1 win over the Sixers, but Thybulle did the best job out of any Sixers defender against him. He stayed in front of him and he forced Tatum into a lot of tough contested jump shots which is exactly what you want to do.
“I think he did a really good job,” said coach Brett Brown. “I think as a rookie to come in and have that type of assignment with really one of the league’s incredibly improved iso players who can create shots in so many ways. I thought that he did a really good job. A few times, you wish schematically, that we tried to execute the things we were going a little bit better, but I thought the discipline he showed of not being lifted and show his hands and not get in foul trouble, I thought he was excellent.”
The other guy the Sixers need to worry about is Jaylen Brown who had 29 points and he was huge down the stretch in this game. When considering the turnovers plus the efforts of Tatum and Brown, it’s easy to see why Philadelphia lost this game.
“You have to give them credit on how good they are in creating their own shot,” Brown added. “I hope we can do a better job of defending them in some of the seams that we’re trying to execute.”
Could this mean a starting lineup change? Brown had hinted before that Thybulle could be starting. Maybe this is what he needed to see to make that change?
“To completely blow up the starting 5 in exchange for doing that, I’m not prepared to say that that’s going to happen,” Brown finished with. “I look forward to going back and watching the tape and considering that option, but at the moment, it’s something that I want to think more about based on what I see on the tape.”
Game 2 between the two rivals is on Wednesday inside the bubble. [lawrence-related id=36917,36914,36911]