The final stat line won’t show it but Matisse Thybulle made the most of his time on the court Thursday night as the Philadelphia 76ers picked up a 115-109 victory on the road over the Boston Celtics.
The 20th overall selection tallied just six points on 2-of-4 shooting from 3-point range while he added two assists, two blocks, one steal and one rebound in nearly 30 minutes of action, including nine minutes on the floor in the fourth quarter.
Thybulle picked up both of his blocks in the final period, including one against Kemba Walker as time expired, thwarting any chance of some last-second heroics by the Celtics. The performance by Thybulle was yet another example of his defensive impact.
The rookie was tasked with guarding several Celtics players throughout the night, from Walker to Gordon Hayward to Jaylen Brown. With Thybulle on him, Walker managed just three points in the fourth quarter while he missed all four shots taken from the field.
Matisse Thybulle is unreal pic.twitter.com/QoEp2pfFhT
— Nathan (@nathenmikeuxl) December 13, 2019
Thybulle possesses the defensive instincts teams covet from players. As a result, Thybulle is 10th among all players in deflections per-36 minutes, 19th in steals, second in steal percentage and fifth in defensive rating so far this season.
While Thybulle has been remarkable on defense, the former Washington guard has started to turn the corner recently on offense. Prior to Thursday, Thybulle was averaging 9.4 points, 2.6 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals in five December games while shooting 60% (12-of-20) from 3-point range.
As he has shown flashes this season, Thybulle has had some mistakes.
The three free throws made by Walker in the fourth quarter were a result of the veteran point guard baiting Thybulle off of his feet to draw the foul. But for a player having just finished his 25th game, the Sixers certainly have to feel encouraged by his play thus far.
Thybulle likely hasn’t played enough this season to earn any end-of-the-season accolades but he is staying productive on the court and finding ways to impact games for the Sixers.
[lawrence-related id=8051,8021,8202]