The Philadelphia 76ers were looking sluggish on Wednesday night. It was Thanksgiving Eve and they were coming off a tough night on Monday in a road loss to the Toronto Raptors. On top of that, they lost guard Josh Richardson at halftime to hamstring tightness. The team needed a spark and that’s when coach Brett Brown went to the rookie to help the team to a win over the Sacramento Kings.
Matisse Thybulle was called upon and he immediately made an impact as he as able to get a few deflections and he was able to knock down some timely 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 15 points. Thybulle has worked constantly on his game and he credited his teammates for finding him when he was open.
Thybulle stated after the game:
I think the guys just put me in a good position to make shots. I didn’t do anything crazy. I just spaced the floor and they were able to find me and the shots fell.
The rookie out of Washington had fallen out of the rotation a bit as he is still trying to find his way in the league. The growing pains can be tough for a rookie to handle in such a fast-paced league like the NBA, but he stayed ready and he was able to make an impact when he was needed the most.
He added:
You stay ready. It’s not a matter of just like getting ready, it’s like you need to be ready for every opportunity, because being a rookie, you don’t know what’s going to be coming your way and you’ve just got to be able to step up when it’s your time when they call your name.
The Sixers are now 11-1 when Thybulle plays over 12 minutes. After a stat line of 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting, 3-for-3 from deep, 2-for-2 from the line, and four steals, it appears that that type of production could win him a regular spot again in Brown’s rotation. [lawrence-related id=20173,20141,20132]