The Philadelphia 76ers got a solid road victory on Thursday to close out 2020 with a 116-92 victory over the Orlando Magic. It was a game featuring an Philadelphia offensive clinic that included a triple from star Ben Simmons.
Another very nice fact was the fact that Matisse Thybulle played well in his first real minutes of the season. The Sixers are a deeper team right now and Thybulle has not been able to get a shot at the rotation of new coach Doc Rivers.
However, with Furkan Korkmaz out, Thybulle is getting a chance and didn’t miss it. He scored nine points and four rebounds as he went two deep and his usual excellent defense was there as well.
“We’ve been telling him this from the beginning,” Rivers said. “Matisse will be a key player for this basketball team. I thought his first half at both ends was phenomenal. Second half, I was a little upset because I had, I think he let three pass and tried to drive and I told him that when you were open, let him fly. He did it in the first half, but defensively, in the second half, he was phenomenal with Anthony (Cole). Anthony is very aggressive and has been phenomenal tonight. “
Thybulle was completely in the rotation of Brett Brown as a rookie as he gained time thanks to his phenomenal defense. This is not the case right now in Rivers and he understands that as time goes on he will have to earn his place. This is now your chance to do it.
“I would say it was pretty similar to what happened last year,” Thybulle said. “I have to fight for a place in the rotation, which has been hit or lost from top to bottom, so it’s nothing new. I didn’t enter the season with any expectation of being on the floor like I did last year. I knew I should win and I think I’m in the process right now. “
As for his offense, everyone understands that he is not yet up there at this end of the floor. You need to keep working on this aspect of your game. The nine points were his first points of the season after running out of goals in the first four games of the season.
“It just makes itself felt,” he added. “These are my first cubes of the season, so I just have a feeling and the more minutes I have, the more comfortable we feel on the track. I think it will come. I think we all grow and try to figure out where our shots are, what are the best shots and, as you can see, I’m going through it while we talk. ”