The Philadelphia 76ers had to take on the Toronto Raptors on Thursday shorthanded as they were missing their best defender in Matisse Thybulle due to him being ruled ineligible to play in Toronto. That put a lot of pressure on others to step up defensively.
They weren’t able to do so against Raptors star Pascal Siakam who had 37 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds as Toronto defeated the Sixers 119-114. Having Thybulle out there to defend Siakam on some possessions certainly would have gone a long way in the Sixers being able to win the game.
Danny Green started in his place and he played well knocking down six triples to score 18 points, but it wasn’t enough in place of Thybulle’s defensive presence.
“Of course, we miss him,” said Tyrese Maxey. “Just him doing what he does, it’s always great for us, but adversity comes and he has to fight through it if you play here then somebody will just have to step up. Danny stepped up and played really well tonight. His first start in I don’t know how long. He was talking about how many minutes he played. Old guy, but he played really well.”
The Sixers did get off to a good start on Thursday as they built a 15-point lead in the first quarter, but they weren’t able to sustain it on the defensive end. That is where they missed Thybulle.
“He’s our best defender,” said James Harden. “I think we got off to a really good start. We just didn’t sustain it for the entire game which is something that we’re gonna have to do. They’re a team that’s going to continue to keep pressing the paint, keep being physical, continue to do it for an entire game, but if we can just be solid on both ends of the basketball, limit them to one shot and just gain the rebound, we’ll be in great possession.”
With that being said, coach Doc Rivers isn’t looking for any excuses.
“Matisse had nothing to do with this game,” said Rivers. “We would’ve lost the game with Matisse.”
The Sixers now have two games left before the playoffs where they will likely see these Raptors again.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[listicle id=52336]
[lawrence-related id=62360,62358,62330]