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Philadelphia 76ers rookie wing Matisse Thybulle has been ruled out for at least two weeks with a right knee sprain, according to Derek Bodner of The Athletic:
#sixers rookie Matisse Thybulle is out indefinitely with a right knee sprain and a bone bruise. He will be re-evaluated in approximately 2 weeks.
The injury is the result of a hyperextension suffered late in the 4th quarter of last night's win over the Wizards.
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) December 22, 2019
Bodner notes that the injury stems from a hyper extension suffered during the fourth quarter of Saturday's win over the Washington Wizards, which is unfortunate considering the Sixers were up by 17 when Thybulle was forced to leave the contest.
The 22-year-old out of the University of Washington has lived up to his billing as a defensive menace. Thybulle is averaging 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks in under 18 minutes per game through his first 30 appearances in the NBA.
He fits right in with the rest of Philly's long and versatile defenders. Tobias Harris even compared Thybulle to Kawhi Leonard in terms of being a rookie who can immediately impact the game with his defense (via Tim Bontemps of ESPN):
“I've not seen a rookie come in with his defensive skills, and that's impressive,” Philadelphia forward Tobias Harris said. “The only guy I would say is Kawhi [Leonard].”
Thybulle is also learning when to gamble and when to make the right defensive play (via Bontemps):
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“I've had to figure out time and place,” Thybulle said recently with a smile. “It's been a huge feel thing. A lot of these guys, it's my first time playing against them. So I didn't know what to expect. I came in with my college mentality, like, try to steal every pass.
“I learned very quickly that was not going to work.”
Thybulle has also provided added floor spacing for Philly. The rookie is averaging a three-pointer every game on just 2.2 attempts per night — 46.3 percent from beyond the arc.
The knee injury is a setback, but Thybulle and the Sixers will hope that he is healthy enough to return in a couple of weeks.
