The Philadelphia 76ers have been a team that has focused on putting guards around Joel Embiid in order to ensure he has enough space to go to work on offense. That has led to success on the offensive end for the big fella.
However, in Wednesday’s win over the Orlando Magic, the Sixers ran a lineup that featured Embiid playing with another big man in the form of Andre Drummond. The Sixers were down by 10 in the third quarter and Embiid and Drummond playing together helped turn the game around and get the Sixers a win.
Matisse Thybulle, who missed the game due to being in the health and safety protocols, was surprised to see Embiid and Drummond playing together when he watched the game.
“I thought somebody messed up the subs!” Thybulle laughed on Friday morning. “It was good and I thought oh there might be something here. I don’t think it was entertained as an idea until it happened.”
The idea could have come from a post-Christmas practice. Coach Doc Rivers decided to have a scrimmage where the five big men took on the five guards so that could have been where he got the idea to put them together.
“That is true!” said Thybulle. “We did play bigs on guards. That was very interesting. Maybe it stemmed from that. Maybe it did. Who knows? It was so random to begin with. He said ‘Yeah! Joel, Charles, like all those guys’ just like yeah, it was fun. I think it was a nice way to play basketball and not have to be so serious. Just play for fun.”
While the lineup is a bit odd due to the way the game is played in today’s NBA, the Sixers were still able to use it to their advantage.
“To see Jo and Andre out there, like the twin towers was really fun to watch,” Thybulle added. “It’s such an interesting lineup, and I think it’s very intimidating for other teams.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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