Philadelphia 76ers: When Matisse Thybulle plays loose, he’s a problem

When Joel Embiid plays, the Philadelphia 76ers have a defined identity.

They run at a specific pace, run the same old two-man actions with shooters like Seth Curry, and ultimately run their offense and defense through their best player, with his specific schematic preferences taking priority over all others.

But when Joel Embiid is out, like he was versus the Memphis Grizzlies after a 21 game iron man streak, the Sixers’ offense becomes the wild, wild west.

Tyrese Maxey gets to run the offense at his pace, Tobias Harris’ responsibilities elevate, and non-rotation players, in this case, Charles Bassey and Isaiah Joe, get a bit more run than when Embiid is filling up the five spot for an average of 32.9 minutes per game.

Are the Sixers a better team when Embiid is out? Oh goodness no, that is an absolutely crazy statement, but they do do some things that Doc Rivers should fold into the team’s offensive identity when “The Process” is off the court for 15.1 minutes per game.

Like what, you may ask? Well, for one thing, afford Maxey a few more minutes with the second unit. He’s a speedy performer who excels outside of the restraints of a traditional halfcourt offense and looks very well in a pace-centric lineup paired up with Andre Drummond, Georges Niang, Matisse Thybulle, and Furkan Korkmaz. Furthermore, Isaiah Joe really does need some more on-court time regardless of how often his 3 ball is flying. In regulation, Joe picked up a steal and a rebound in addition to his 10 points, and while he did turn the ball over three times, he picked up full court and remained engaged defensively.

But the more things change, the more things stay the same, and if there’s one thing the Philadelphia 76ers learned in this particular contest, it’s that Matisse Thybulle is one of the NBA’s best defenders regardless of age and can take over entire quarters when he isn’t being relied upon to space the floor.

The Philadelphia 76ers need to give Thybulle more run without Embiid.

Matisse Thybulle is not a good 3 point shooter; he tries, mind you, and will occasionally even knock down a big shot at seemingly the most random of times, but as a general rule, when he’s on the court, teams shouldn’t expect him to provide much in the way of offensive production.

Unfortunately, when a player is on the court with Joel Embiid, which Thybulle is for an average of 17.6 minutes per game, they sort of need to be able to space the floor, as the big fella draws more double-teams than Bob Ross draws pleasant landscapes. For years now, and especially this season, Embiid has become accustomed to second and sometimes even third defenders blitzing into the paint when he has the ball in the hopes of disrupting his offensive game. Because of this, there is almost always at least one “free guy” waiting in the wings for an open shot, with Embiid being an outlet pass away from turning a tough look shot in the painted area into a wide-open look beyond the arc.

Because Embiid has become a darn good passer, these looks have become incredibly successful, but when the player catching one of Embiid’s dimes is hitting only 27.2 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s, which is Thybulle’s mark on the season, it gives opposing coaches free reign to leave that player open.

The solution? Play Thybulle a little less often with Embiid and a bit more often with just Tyrese Maxey.

As things presently stand, the two-man lineup of Maxey and Thybulle runs at a pace only .24 higher than Embiid and Thybulle. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but when you consider that 67.7 percent of Thybulle’s minutes playing alongside Maxey come with Embiid on the court too, that number is a bit misleading. Swap out Embiid for Drummond, and the three-man lineup’s pace jumps from 95.86, which is both bad and below their season average of 96.0 (more on that here), to 99.75, which would rank sixth league-wide if they could pull it off over a full season.

Situationally, Embiid and Thybulle should totally play together, especially on key defensive possessions and when Danny Green is also on the court, but as unusual as it may sound, splitting the two players’ minutes up a bit more often might just be the key to keeping both at their best.

Will Matisse Thybulle eventually become an average NBA defender? Honestly, I sort of doubt it. We’re in Year 3, and he’s yet to take a step forward in the same way as, say, Tyrese Maxey this season. But when Thybulle is used correctly, he can be a problem, as he’s an unusually good defender who allows a shooting percentage of just 37 percent to opposing players, which is the lowest mark in the NBA. When Thybulle is tasked with spacing the field and keeping the paint clean for Joel Embiid, his game can struggle, but when the Philadelphia 76ers allow him to play sans the rigid need to wait on the wings for an open 3, he visibly loosens up and becomes a box office attraction one has to see to believe.