The Philadelphia 76ers have been tinkering with their rotation to begin the 2022-23 season as coach Doc Rivers tries to figure roles out.
One player out of the rotation to begin the season was Matisse Thybulle, who played a grand total of five minutes across the first five games. Considering Philadelphia’s defensive issues, it didn’t make sense to sit him any longer. Rivers put him back out there in the past two games, both of which were wins.
He played 22 minutes in a win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday and 21 minutes in a win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. The Sixers needed Thybulle’s defensive intensity. Despite not playing as much, he had the support of the team’s head honcho, Joel Embiid.
“Joel’s been one of my biggest supporters since I’ve been on the Sixers, and always been one of the loudest in celebrating my successes,” Thybulle told reporters. “It absolutely means a lot that the spearhead of the team, the guy who everything’s running through, supports you, and I think it helps to just to keep earning his trust. Like, he wants to trust me and like me and celebrate me, but to do the work and have the results that can actually materialize it. It feels good and it sure makes me excited.”
For the Sixers to have any success on their championship quest, they need Thybulle to play a part. He is an elite defender, and he has been working on his jumper to be an asset on the offensive end.
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