This is the continuation of a new series by Sixers Wire to pass the time for everybody for the All-Star break. We’re going to take a look back at the 3 goals series from the offseason and see how each player has done in achieving those goals as well as give them a rating on how their season has gone. The rating will be based on a scale of 10 with 10 being how their season has gone based on the goals.
We continue right along as we go down the roster and we now turn our attention to rookie Matisse Thybulle. There were a lot of questions surrounding Thybulle as he the Sixers made a big trade with the rival Boston Celtics in order to select the product out of Washington, but he has put any concern to bed with his terrific play to begin the season.
We now review his season based on the 3 goals given to him in the offseason:
Forcing turnovers
Thybulle has been a menace on the defensive end. He has averaged 1.4 steals in just 20.3 minutes per game and he is also averaging 0.9 blocks. He has totaled 68 steals and 40 blocks so far and when comparing that to the rest of the rookie class, he leads all rookies in steals by a wide margin and he is third in blocks.
After ranking 27th in forcing turnovers in the 2018-19 season, the Sixers are up to 19th in that category in the 2019-20 season mostly due to Thybulle and that has allowed the team to get out and run when presented with the opportunity. He has been absolutely terrific on the defensive end and has made an immediate impact on this team.
Providing shooting
The big criticism against Thybulle coming into the season was that he was not much of a shooter. He only shot 30.5% from deep in his senior season at Washington, but he has put all of those concerns to bed as a rookie. He is shooting 37.3% from deep on 2.7 attempts off the bench. When considering that the league average is 35.7% from deep, he has proven that he can be a good shooter in this league.
Taking on the defensive challenge
Thybulle has been matched up with some of the more explosive offensive scorers in this league. He has found himself matched up with maestros such as Kemba Walker, Zach LaVine, and Trae Young just to name a few. In fact, he has held Walker to 4-for-12 shooting with four turnovers when matched up against him and has held LaVine to 3-for-11 shooting. He has been impressive.
For the Sixers to make a deep run into the playoffs, they will need Thybulle to continue taking steps forward. His fouls have gone down per game and he has done a terrific job of providing this Sixers team with what they need on both ends of the floor. He has a bright future in this league as a premier defensive player.
Rating: 10/10 [lawrence-related id=25839,25796,25805]