Sixers impressed with Matisse Thybulle’s defense in win over Hawks
When the Philadelphia 76ers need a bit of a spark out there on the floor, coach Doc Rivers will turn to Matisse Thybulle and just turn him loose. His efforts on the defensive end are really infectious and he can be a big help on that end of the floor.
In Saturday’s 122-94 win over the Atlanta Hawks, Thybulle came in and he gave the team a big spark. He had 11 points, but the focus was the fact that he had four steals and three blocks off the bench. His effort on that end allowed Philadelphia to make some big plays out in transition.
“Matisse, just defensively, all over the floor,” Rivers awed. “Steals, blocked shots, energy. Drives offensively, which is something we really work with him every day on. So he’s in a great place.”
There were two blocks specifically on Hawks scorer Cam Reddish that are drawing the most focus. Thybulle rejected one of his corner triple attempts into the third row and then he basically palmed one of Reddish’s jumpers that really impressed Tobias Harris.
“That was impressive,” laughed Harris. “He went for one of those blocks like he was a volleyball player. That was impressive.”
This is the type of defensive effort that the Sixers are used to seeing from Thybulle so this is not exactly shocking. However, when one watches the game and then sees the box score, it still is an impressive showing for one of the league’s better defenders.
“I thought his defensive effort, he had four steals tonight, he was everywhere defensively,” Harris added. “The steals, the blocks that he was able to get out there and defending really good offensive players that can get it going, that’s what we need from him.”
As far as the blocks are concerned, Thybulle really kept it simple: he just doesn’t give up.
“I just don’t give up on the plays really,” he smiled. “Most of the plays that I make, I feel like are ultimately coming from people expecting me to quit when I hit the screen or when I get out of position and then just the fact that I just keep pursuing the ball, good things tend to happen. Those plays are really fun and it leads to like great energy and usually good plays on the other end.”
The Sixers will need more of that when they take on Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday to continue the homestand.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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