Normally teams have a good record when their best players are available and out there playing. Is it that simple? When a team’s best players play, they win? Wow, what a concept.
For the Philadelphia 76ers, one of those players is rookie Matisse Thybulle who continues to become a fixture in the Sixers rotation. Thybulle started again in place of the injured Joel Embiid on Monday and he played 32:53 in a 117-111 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Thybulle only had three points and four rebounds, but he had four steals and a block and the key number is the total minutes he played. The Sixers improved to 17-3 when Thybulle plays at least 20 minutes in a game as he continues to make a big impact for his team on a nightly basis.
.@sixers are 17-3 when @MatisseThybulle plays 20+ minutes https://t.co/DwISXAxZDM
— Zack Neiner (@ZackNeiner) January 21, 2020
The continued improvement of Thybulle’s game has coach Brett Brown excited about his rookie.
“We have the possibility to put out a team defensively that is stalking, like really stalking and long and active with their hands,” said Brown. “We chart deflections, we had 20, which is unheard of, in the fourth quarter. We turned them over 11 times which is a big number and Matisse had a lot do with that. He has improved in that capacity a lot without the foul.”
The Sixers will hope that Thybulle can continue to push forward as he builds a case for making an All-Defensive Team at the end of the season. [lawrence-related id=23967,23956,23947]