Philadelphia 76ers: Matisse Thybulle shined in his postseason debut

Matisse Thybulle was the lone bright spot of an ugly Philadelphia 76ers loss.

To paraphrase the seminal, coming-of-age sports drama The Water Boy, ‘Oh no, the Philadelphia 76ers stink again’.

Yes, it came within single-digit points, yes, the Sixers are without their second-best player against a team loaded up with guards on top of guards on top of guards, and yes, it was technically a road game, but for the third postseason in a row, it looks like the dreams of championship victory have been slashed once more, this time after only one game.

But you know what? I don’t want to talk about that. I don’t want to talk about Joel Embiid’s lack of post-ups, Tobias Harris’ 15 point performance, or Al Horford’s single-digit revenge game against his former team. I don’t even want to talk about Alec Burk’s missed free throw, Embiid’s last-second 3 point attempt, or the team’s seeming inability to go three possessions without a turnover.

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No, I want to try to take things down a positive route and focus on the one glowing ember keeping this otherwise extinguished dumpster-fire worth watching: Matisse Thybulle.

Sidebar: Does anyone know how to fix a fist-sized hole through a drywall wall? No? Anyway…

While Thybulle didn’t technically start in his postseason debut, an idea floated by Brett Brown before the series went underway, the 6-foot-5, 200-pound rookie out of Washington played starter minutes; finishing out the contest with the fourth-most playing time over actual starter Shake Milton, Furkan Korkmaz, and Mike Scott. In those minutes, Thybulle racked up four rebounds, an assist, two steals, and one of the sweetest blocks you’ll ever see on a should-be 3 by Jayson Tatum.

My goodness, has anyone ever put a block on a poster?

Now sure, some will object to this assertion and throw Thybulle’s five-point performance back in your face but honestly, don’t worry about these people. Yes, Thybulle isn’t a classical shooter, and yes, he isn’t the ball-dominant guard many fans would give all the free Wendys peripheries in South Philadelphia for right now, but even in 2020, defense is half of any basketball game.

Literally, one team or the other is literally on defense for the entire game, think about it.

Without Thybulle locking horns with Tatum for basically the entirety of his 33 minute evening, the 22-year-old former Dukie may have had 60 points, instead of the relatively manageable 32 point performance he was held to against the Sixers’ typically leaky wing defense.

And to think, Thybulle was technically drafted by the Boston Celtics, before Danny Ainge shipped him down I-95 for Carsen Edwards and a 2020 Phoenix Suns first-round pick that didn’t convey and may not be particularly high in 2021. Boy, it sure is nice to see the Philadelphia 76ers actually win something involving the Boston Celtics for a change, especially a trade up for a Washington Huskies guard with a wonky shot…