Philadelphia 76ers 2021-22 season in review: Matisse Thybulle

The 2021-22 season was an up and down one for Philadelphia 76ers guard Matisse Thybulle. The defensive star out of Washington once again impacted the defensive end on his way to earning All-Defensive second-team honors, but his offense was once again a problem.

Thybulle made some strides on the offensive end in terms of being able to move off the ball and cut to the basket for easy layups, but it didn’t change the fact teams still did not give him much attention on the offensive end.

Thybulle started 50 of the 66 games he played during the season, and he earned some confidence from coach Doc Rivers.

Thybulle's 2021-22 season averages

Season highlights

Thybulle had some big defensive games. He locked down Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry in a win in December, and he did a terrific job against some of the bigger perimeter scorers in the league. Many nights Thybulle would blow up the opposition’s offensive scheme with his ability to jump the passing lanes and cause havoc on that end.

Offensively, he has a long way to go. He took an average of 4.5 shots per game and only 2.2 3s per game. While he took steps forward in terms of understanding where to cut and how he can be effective on the offensive end, he still doesn’t command much attention when he has the ball on the perimeter.

Playoff run

Thybulle’s playoff run was marred by his vaccination decision. Since he had only one shot of the Pfizer vaccine (a full dose was two shots), he could not enter Canada during Philadelphia’s first-round playoff series with the Toronto Raptors. He lost confidence from that situation and it had an effect on him the rest of the way.

In the second round with the Miami Heat, Thybulle was not much of a factor on offense. He had a few really nice possessions against Heat scorer Tyler Herro on the defensive end, but Miami did not bother with him when he had the ball. That has to change.

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