Philadelphia 76ers second-year guard Matisse Thybulle is one of the elite defenders in the NBA, but he is still learning his way in the league. There is so much talent in the league on the offensive end and they will take advantage of any slip-ups from a defender.
Thybulle learned this a lot in Round 1 when he had to defend Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal for a majority of the series. He had to learn to stay disciplined with his defense and he will have to continue to stay solid rather than continue to gamble.
Moving on to Round 2, he now has to defend Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young and he is now learning he has to remain solid with his play on that end. Young is a crafty player who will draw fouls on almost everybody and Thybulle is still learning that lesson.
“More discipline,” Thybulle laughed. “Just in the different ways how he draws fouls and things like that just trying not to play into his hand in that sense and stay as solid as possible while still making things hard for him.”
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As the Sixers continue on without a vocal guy like Danny Green with his injury, they will need more out of somebody like Thybulle to project his voice a bit more out on the floor.
“I think it’s as much of an opportunity for me as it is for everyone else,” he explained. “I think when you lose a vocal guy, one of the main voices you have been either under the court, I think it’s not so much it’s time for one person to step up, but everyone. I think it would not only be huge for me but everybody down the line.”
There will be a lot asked of Thybulle and the rest of the bench at the moment amid Green’s injury and they will have to step up and produce in order for Philadelphia to get it done in this postseason.
“Everyone needs to be ready to show up and do their part,” Thybulle finished. “Especially just being a part of the second unit coming off the bench, our job is to literally be that spark, be the energy, and to do it within your role.”
The Sixers will look for a 3-1 lead on the series when they take on the Hawks in Game 4 of their series on Monday.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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