Everybody knows that Philadelphia 76ers guard Matisse Thybulle is one of the elite defenders in the league. The guy makes so many game-changing plays on the defensive end of the floor and that makes him so valuable on an every-game basis.
However, there are some nights he just doesn’t have it and Sunday was one of those examples.
In a 114-104 road loss to the Phoenix Suns, Thybulle only played 15:38 and had four fouls in that time. In the second half, he only played 3:39 and he didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter.
When Thybulle is in foul trouble like he was against the Suns combined with his tough night on the offensive end, it can be tough to play him. That’s why Danny Green got a majority of the playing time in the second half.
“He just had the fouls,” explained coach Doc Rivers. “We had some spacing issues. I didn’t go with Furk (Korkmaz) either tonight and we are trying to stretch our rotation right now to play 10 or 11 even just to get guys in, but it was just not the game tonight.”
At the same time, it can be tough to really justify going 10 or 11 deep at this stage of the season as the Sixers are still trying to win games. However, Rivers is confident in guys like Thybulle and the guys deeper on the bench.
“We can win with those guys, too,” he said. “Matisse’s fouls kind of threw the rotations out so we just didn’t tonight. He’ll be playing in the future.”
The Sixers will now return home to host the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday as they look to bounce back from the loss.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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