Philadelphia 76ers: My oh my, Matisse Thybulle did not disappoint

How many times have you heard some variation of the following phrase, ‘if Matisse Thybulle can just average double-digit points, he’ll be a star?’

A few? A dozen? More? Heck, I’ll be the first to admit I’ve said it too, earlier today to be exact, when discussing how Thybulle would be crucial in the team’s ability to beat the Atlanta Hawks.

Why? Easy, because if Thybulle can just average double-digit points, he’d be a shoo-in to start for the Philadelphia 76ers at small forward and a thus, have more opportunities to do his thing as the most efficient pickpocket wing in the game.

But what happens if Thybulle starts averaging 10 points per game in only 23 minutes of action as a rotational wing? Just how valuable will he become if he can evenly split time with an “old as dirt” Danny Green and give the team a top-flight wing defender on the court at all times?

Well that, my friends, is what happened in the Philadelphia 76ers’ absolute routing of the Atlanta Hawks, and boy oh boy was it a ton of fun to watch.

Matisse Thybulle put on a show for the Philadelphia 76ers’ fans at the Wells Fargo Center.

Matisse Thybulle was on the court for 23 minutes for the Philadelphia 76ers on Halloween Eve.

He first entered the game with about three minutes to go in the first quarter, and remained in the game right up until the buzzer while playing alongside deep bench reserves like Isaiah Joe, Paul Reed, and Charles Bassey (plus Furkan Korkmaz).

Thybulle finished out the game with 11 points, three rebounds, four steals, and three blocks, marking the first time in his young NBA career with such an incredible stat line. In a fun twist of fate, Thybulle also recorded his third made 3 pointer of the season, even if it took him three attempts to accomplish the feat.

And best of all? Thybulle recorded a beautiful steal on Trae Young that wasn’t technically his fault, but certainly made up for that missed fault at the end of Game 7 back in June.

From slamming down the rock to getting sweet revenge on Danilo Gallinari after getting tripped up on what should have been a beautiful steal-to-transitional points opportunity, and his almost cruel treatment of Philly native Cam Reddish during a wild sequence in the second quarter, Thybulle was everywhere for the Philadelphia 76ers in their second straight game at home, and performed the sort of ghastly on-court apparations that only he can do.

Not too shabby for a one-way player who will never be more than a rotational player, huh?

As I pointed out during my pre-game piece, Tony Allen, the player most compare Matisse Thybulle to defensive, only averaged double-digit points one time during his 14 NBA seasons. Granted, he never averaged the sort of blocking or steals numbers Thybulle is already putting up either, but at least Allen could reliably be counted on to get you 8.1 points per game regardless of his uniform color. If Matisse Thybulle can just hit that mark consistently, he’ll be a starter for a very long time. But if he can at like he did against the Atlanta Hawks, he’ll be the Philadelphia 76ers’ next great defensive folk hero.