In order for the Philadelphia 76ers to be successful, they need to be able to get the ball into Joel Embiid and let him do his thing. To that point, once Embiid gets the ball, the big fella is going to see a lot of double teams and it is on the others to step up and cut when they see an opportunity.
One guy who has taken advantage of that is Matisse Thybulle who has begun to understand how to cut, when to cut, and use his athleticism to get himself some easy baskets.
Thybulle was able to do so in Saturday’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Every time Embiid was doubled, Thybulle identified where to cut and the big fella hit him with a pass which allowed him to get an easy bucket.
“Matisse, that’s what we’ve been working on the last two years,” said Embiid. “Just be on the same page, as soon as I catch the ball, someone doubles, we have designated cutters who are supposed to do their job and Matisse has been excellent at it all season long and we’ve come a long way since last year.”
Embiid broke it down even further. He added that Thybulle has understood how and when to cut from where a team sends double teams towards Embiid.
“It depends,” Embiid explained. “We know our game plan. When teams are doubling from the top, we know we should be cutting, if it comes from the baseline, we know we should be slashing to make sure we got a wide-open shot in the opposite corner.”
Cutting off the ball is an underrated skill in basketball. It makes life so much easier for everybody involved. Especially for a guy like Embiid who attracts so much attention. Thybulle is a big beneficiary of being able to cut and get easy looks.
“He’s gotten so much better,” said coach Doc Rivers. “We work on it, he sees it. Early on, and most players, they look at the ball instead of looking at their man. When you’re a cutter, you shouldn’t be paying attention to the ball much, but right when your guy turns his head because they will and right when they turn their head that’s when Matisse cuts. His timing on it is perfect now.”
With James Harden eventually joining the fray, it will be even more important for Thybulle to continue to grow his cut game and it will make the Sixers tough to stop on offense.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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