Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown is considering making a bold change to his starting lineup for the playoffs, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
During a conference call with reporters on Sunday, Brown said he and his coaching staff have discussed inserting Matisse Thybulle into the starting lineup, saying that Thybulle can have a “significant” role defensively.
“We're talking a lot about doing different things,” Brown said. “Starting Matisse Thybulle is being considered. Obviously, I'm not going to tell much more, but we're talking about a lot of things. Matisse will have a significant role defensively in this series.”
Since Ben Simmons is sidelined indefinitely due to a foreign body from his left knee, the Sixers will obviously need to make a change to their starting lineup to make if more defensively equipped against the Boston Celtics. Thybulle, who was Philadelphia's 2019 first-round draft selection, has played phenomenally defensively this season.
The 23-year-old finished the regular season with 93 steals and 47 blocks, becoming the eighth rookie in the last 20 seasons to accomplish that feat. Furthermore, Thybulle has shot the ball fairly well this season, shooting 42 percent from the field and 35 percent from three-point range.
Adding Thybulle into the starting lineup can possibly limit the Celtics offensively, who have numerous offensive threats in Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward. If Thybulle can perform in the playoffs like he did all throughout the regular season, the Sixers may have a shot at beating the Celtics.
Game 1 against the Celtics will be on Monday.
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