The 2022-2023 NBA season started off strangely for Matisse Thybulle. As the Philadelphia 76ers shrunk their rotation to nine players to begin the season, Thybulle found himself on the outside looking in.
In the season opener against the Boston Celtics, Thybulle saw the floor for 23 seconds. He followed up that shift with an 18-second appearance in the Milwaukee Bucks matchup.
While Thybulle saw a slight increase in minutes for the games against the San Antonio Spurs and the Indiana Pacers, he accounted for just five minutes on the court over two games before remaining on the bench for the entire first matchup against the Toronto Raptors last Wednesday.
Thybulle’s lack of minutes early on was quite a dramatic difference from his first few seasons in the NBA. Since a rookie, Thybulle averaged at least 19 minutes on the floor. That number increased for the next two seasons before he reached this point.
Struggles on the defensive end left Sixers head coach Doc Rivers with the thought of increasing the number of players in the Sixers’ rotation. Thybulle, an All-Defensive candidate, was the obvious choice to take up 20 minutes of playing time in the matchups against the Toronto Raptors and the Chicago Bulls.
The key for Thybulle to stay on the court is displaying more value on the offensive end while maintaining his high level of defensive play. Part of Thybulle’s offensive development is keeping the fourth-year wing confident in his shot.
Doc Rivers and the veteran forward Tobias Harris stayed on Thybulle, encouraging him to continue letting shots fly throughout the preseason. Now, it seems the superstar center Joel Embiid has taken over in that aspect, as Thybulle credited the All-Star for being one of his top supporters.
Thybulle’s got a long way to go in developing on the offensive end, but his progress so far has been promising. Last Friday, Thybulle checked into the second Toronto matchup for nearly 22 minutes. The young wing put up six shots and hit on two three-pointers for six points.
While Thybulle didn’t attempt any threes the following night against the Chicago Bulls, he still accounted for a couple of points off two shots in the 20 minutes he spent on the floor.
Embiid and the Sixers will continue to stay on Thybulle to make sure he continues to be active on offense even when the shots aren’t falling. As long as they keep the former first-rounder confident, Thybulle will keep his role in the rotation and continue helping Philadelphia out on the defensive end, where they need him the most.
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