Matisse Thybulle has been on a defensive break for the past month. He was in it again in the last game of the Philadelphia 76ers, a 118-113 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
The Sixers returned to heavy use of their 2-3 zone defense to upset the Rockets, and Thybulle prospered. He helped contain a lot of advances from the Rockets, played three points as usual, and interrupted a series of off-ball moves while flying overtaking lanes using his speed, length and stellar anticipation. Whether he was competing with the ball or wreaking havoc while wandering around the Six area, he made a series of attractive plays.
Thybulle played 31 minutes, the best of the season, and ended the game with 4 steals, 1 block and 8 deflections.
Matisse Thybulle had another super disruptive defensive performance against Houston yesterday.
4 steals, 1 block and 8 deflections in 31 minutes.
He separated the plays in and out of the ball and prospered when the Sixers used their zone 2-3. pic.twitter.com/y1tIpkmdks
– Tom West (@TomWestNBA) February 18, 2021
Coach Doc Rivers and the Sixers players have always praised Thybulle’s defense and were even more impressed by some of his recent performances.
“When you put Matisse in the game, I feel that this is our best defense,” said Joel Embiid after the Sixers’ victory against the Rockets. “He gets his hands on everything. I think he has the potential to be the best defender in the league ”.
Embiid was asked whether the Sixers can use zone defense a little more with Thybulle’s help, and Embiid emphasized how important Thybulle is in making it an effective option at times.
“The way he moves and plays defense and he has great hands,” said Embiid. “He is one of the reasons why we [use zone]. We did that in Indiana, in that fourth period, and it completely changed the game. And tonight, we basically played the whole game. He was everywhere and I think he has a chance, especially when it comes to the All-NBA Defense Team. “
Here are some highlights of Matisse Thybulle’s dominant defense against the Pacers, including him wreaking havoc in zone 2-3 of the Sixers.
He ended the game with 4 steals, 2 blocks and 5 deflections in 25 minutes. pic.twitter.com/MKEyZkXChI
– Tom West (@TomWestNBA) February 1, 2021
Rivers didn’t come into play planning to use too much zone against the Rockets, but as soon as he saw the team and Thybulle succeed with that, he decided to continue.
“As good as it is in man [defense], he is an even better quarterback, because he can float and use his length, ”said Rivers. “We did not do it [zone] a lot without Ben [Simmons] on the floor, the Matisse-Ben combination is fantastic. Tonight we did that. We didn’t really plan to do this for a long time, we were going to do it in sections, but once we realized that it caused confusion, we continued. ”
As the Sixers did not have Simmons on Wednesday due to illness, Danny Green had a chance to spend more time working alongside Thybulle in zone 2-3.
“It’s been a lot of fun watching him work and work alongside him,” said Green. “When you play in that zone, he kind of licks his feet and gets ready to go. That’s what he loves to do. That’s what he did in college, he’s the brain on it. He knows how to be active, deceptively messing up the attacker’s mind, and manages to get into the overtaking lanes and get a lot of detours. Watching him work in that area is incredible. “
“It changed the game. It was a big change, in terms of energy, at the defensive end of the court. He ran, entered the overtaking lanes, was active and did his job. Even though he only had two shots, which is kind of crazy, he was very effective on the ground for us tonight. “
Since returning from an absence of three games due to the health and safety protocols of COVID-19 following Seth Curry’s positive test in January, Thybulle’s defense has been excellent. He improved as the season progressed, while lowering his bets on steals and blocks that could result in unnecessary fouls or him falling out of position. Reducing these errors has been a point of emphasis for Rivers and the Six’s technical team, and his guidance and work with Thybulle to show him how he can develop – along with his own growth and improved balance – has helped lead to a host of outstanding defensive performances.
After returning to the team on January 14, Thybulle averaged 2 steals and 1 block in just 20.5 minutes per game. For the general season, he leads the NBA in steals for 36 minutes at 3.2 (between players with at least 100 minutes played) and detours for 36 minutes at 6.2.
Thybulle’s defense against the Rockets was just the latest example of what he can do. As he continues to excel at that end of the track and gives the Sixers more flexibility to use the extra zone to keep opponents out, it’s no surprise that the team is impressed.