Matisse Thybulle Hopes Minutes in 76ers' Rotation Stay Steady

With an increase in minutes lately, Matisse Thybulle hopes he can do enough to keep things the way they've been.

It’s apparent that Matisse Thybulle is back in the Philadelphia 76ers’ rotation.

Will it last? Or will Doc Rivers shake things up once more? Nobody can say for sure. Not even the defensive standout himself.

Over the last five games, Thybulle’s averaged 14 minutes on the floor and even collected a start. Against the Chicago Bulls on Friday night, the young reserve checked in for a little under 12 minutes.

After the Sixers’ 14-point loss to the Bulls, Thybulle offered his thoughts on garnering more playing time as of late after failing to see the court for more than five minutes a night during a three-game stretch before last Friday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans.

“It’s cool,” said Thybulle. “I don’t want to say too much when I don’t know what to expect.”

Outside of Georges Niang, the Sixers don’t have a reserve that’s had steady minutes in the rotation throughout the entire season. Everybody on the roster, including Thybulle, understands that roles are currently decided on a game-by-game basis. One day they might play — another day they might not see the floor unless the game reaches garbage time.

While it’s certainly not an ideal scenario on a personal level, as all players want minutes on a nightly basis, Thybulle is hopeful that he can become a reserve that keeps his minutes steady from here on out.

“It’s been nice,” he finished. “I don’t know. Hopefully, it continues. Hopefully, I can continue to play at a level where I can more and more, get more minutes and more opportunity whatever what have you. Yeah, I’m just taking it as it comes.”

The Sixers will take on the Detroit Pistons on Sunday afternoon. With Joel Embiid and PJ Tucker out for the matchup, Thybulle will more than likely pick up notable minutes. Sunday will serve as another opportunity for the defensive standout to earn more minutes in the future. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.