Sixers’ Matisse Thybulle gets Game 2 start vs. Celtics
Thybulle started one of the eight seeding games; 14 of his 65 appearances were starts. His start in the bubble came against the Phoenix Suns when coach Brett Brown was resting his core starters.
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The 76ers have inserted Matisse Thybulle into the starting lineup.
The rookie will replace Al Horford against the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series Wednesday night at The Field House.
One of the biggest questions was how the Sixers would counter the Celtics having guard Marcus Smart start in place of injured forward Gordon Hayward in Game 2 of the first-round series.
Hayward is expected to miss four weeks after suffering a Grade III right ankle sprain in Monday night’s Game 1 victory over the Sixers. Sixers coach Brett Brown said before Tuesday’s practice that Hayward’s replacement in the Celtics lineup could influence his starting lineup.
The 6-foot-3 Smart will join Kemba Walker (6-0), Jaylen Brown (6-6), Jayson Tatum (6-8) and Daniel Theis (6-8) in what was an already small but athletic starting lineup for the Celtics.
So Brown decided not to go with his towering frontcourt of Tobias Harris (6-9), Embiid (7-2), and Al Horford (6-10). Thybulle (6-5) got the start on the wing, and they moved Harris to power forward. Horford would come off the bench.
Thybulle had two steals and one block in Monday’s 109-101 loss to Boston in a reserve role.
He started one of the eight seeding games; 14 of his 65 appearances were starts. His start in the bubble came against the Phoenix Suns when Brown was resting his core starters.
Including the Suns games, the Sixers have a 9-5 record with the defensive stopper in the starting lineup.
The 23-year-old had 14 steals and seven blocks in his seeding games. He finished the regular season with 93 steals and 47 blocks, becoming the eighth rookie in the last 20 seasons to accomplish that. Thybulle did it in 1,287 minutes of action. None of the other seven played fewer than 2,000.