Matisse Thybulle continues to impress the Sixers with his defense

Matisse Thybulle has been on a defensive tear last month. It was there again in the Philadelphia 76ers’ last game, a 118-113 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

The Sixers returned to heavy use of their Zone 2-3 defense to disturb the Rockets, and Thybulle thrived. He helped contain a lot of the Rockets’ drives, contested three runs as always, and disrupted a host of plays off the ball as he flew through the passing lanes using his speed, length and stellar anticipation. Whether he’s competing on the ball or wreaking havoc by roaming the Sixers’ zone, he’s racked up a host of eye-catching plays.

Thybulle played 31 minutes, a season high, and finished the game with 4 interceptions, 1 block and 8 deflections.

Head coach Doc Rivers and the Sixers players have always had high praise for Thybulle’s defense, and they’ve only been more impressed with some of his recent performances.

“When you have Matisse in the game, I feel like it’s our best defense,” said Joel Embiid after the Sixers’ win over the Rockets. “He gets his hands on everything. I think he has the potential to be the best defenseman in the league.

Embiid was asked if the Sixers could use zone defense a bit more with the help of Thybulle, and Embiid pointed out how important Thybulle is in sometimes making it an effective option.

“Just the way he moves and the way he plays on defense and he has good hands,” Embiid said. “This is one of the reasons why we [use zone]. We did it in Indiana in the fourth quarter and it was a game changer. And tonight we did it the whole game. He was everywhere and I think he has a chance, especially when it comes to the All-NBA defensive team.

Rivers didn’t come into the game planning to use a lot of zone against the Rockets, but once he saw the team and Thybulle succeed, he decided to continue.

“As good as it is in man [defense]he’s an even better zone defender because he can float and use his length, ”said Rivers. “We did not do [zone] a lot without Ben [Simmons] on the ground, the Matisse-Ben combination is fantastic. Tonight we made it. We really hadn’t planned on doing it for long, we were going to do it in stages, but once we figured out it was causing some confusion, we stuck with it.

As the Sixers did not have Simmons on Wednesday due to illness, Danny Green was fortunate enough to spend more time working alongside Thybulle in the 2-3 zone.

“It’s been a lot of fun watching him work and work alongside him,” Green said. “When you play in that area, he kind of licks his chops and gets ready to go. That’s what he likes to do. That’s what he did in college, he’s a mastermind in this area. He knows how to be active, confuse the spirit of the attack in a deceptive way, get into passing lanes and get lots of deflections. To see him work in this area is amazing.

“It was a game changer. It was a big change, energetically, on the defensive side of the pitch. He ran the ground, entered passing lanes, was active, and did his job. Even though he only had two hits, which is a little crazy, he was very effective on the floor for us tonight.

Since returning from a three-game absence due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols after Seth Curry tested positive in January, Thybulle’s defense has been excellent. He has improved over the season, while reducing his bets on steals and blocks which can lead to unnecessary fouls or loss of position. Reducing those mistakes was something the coaches of Rivers and Sixers insisted on, and their advice and film work with Thybulle to show him how he can thrive – with his own growth and improved balance – helped become a host. exceptional defensive performance.

After joining the team on January 14, Thybulle averaged 2 steals and 1 block in just 20.5 minutes per game. For the entire season, he leads the NBA in interceptions every 36 minutes at 3.2 (among players with at least 100 minutes played) and deflections every 36 minutes at 6.2.

Thybulle’s defense against the Rockets was just the latest example of what he could do. As he continues to excel at this end of the pitch and gives the Sixers more flexibility to use an extra area to keep opponents away, it’s no surprise the team are impressed.