Matisse Thybulle played only six minutes in his season debut with the Trail Blazers on Sunday but he made a major impact. He blocked a three-point attempt by Orlando Robinson as time expired in the three-point victory, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian notes.
“It was fun,” Thybulle said. “My head was spinning a bit, got tired a lot faster than I was expecting, but felt like I fit in well. Felt like I was able to contribute early, which was something I was hoping to be able to do. And then, was able to recover from a mistake late in the game and save it.”
Coach Chauncey Billups was thrilled to have the defensive stalwart back in action. Thybulle had been sidelined by knee and ankle injuries.
“Obviously, you saw how he hadn’t played all year, and game’s on the line, you see, I trust him,” Billups said. “Just throw him out there.”
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- The Thunder’s big man pairing of Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren was particularly effective in a win over Milwaukee on Sunday. Hartenstein had 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Holmgren had 16 points and eight rebounds. They also combined for six assists. “It’s improved over the course of games we’ve done it. … I think early on, when we were playing that lineup, it was against perimeter oriented teams, which can skew your impression of it,” coach Mark Daigneault said, per Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman (Twitter link). “(Sunday) we used it against a team it was impactful against.”
- The Jazz were fined $100K last week for holding out a healthy Lauri Markkanen so they tried a new tanking strategy against the Raptors on Friday, Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune reports. Instead of making Walker Kessler inactive, the Jazz chose to dress the rotation center but not play him. Markkanen sat the entire second half while Collin Sexton played only 20 minutes and was held out during crunch time. That trio started against a much better opponent, the Timberwolves, on Sunday and the Jazz lost by 26 points.
- Anthony Edwards, who was named Western Conference Player of the Week, has improved as a facilitator and The Athletic’s Fred Katz details his development in that aspect. Edwards has especially gotten better in reading defensive coverages and exploiting its weaknesses.
You GO Jazz, this sure is getting fun!!!
Silliness begets silliness so this is all on Silver to be clear
Meanwhile, some good young Jazz talent continues to get inconsistent minutes, which only stunts there develop. They should be playing Sensabaugh 35min a game, but the Jazz are afraid he might score too much.
Jazz can play whoever they want, they’ll still lose. Not sure why they think Lauri will help them win.
Cooper in a jazz uni is a worst case scenario. They’re gonna have to rig that machine to make sure he lands in either Brooklyn or DC.
Ainge and Silver going back and forth like two teenage girls. Both pathetic. Silver for being in denial about what is right in front of him. Ainge for making his HC and players complicit in his tanking. Not sure why his HC and players go along so willingly, but maybe the guys involved just assume this is normal.
James Wiseman career stats —-
19 mins, .560% FG, 9.1 pts, 5.6 reb
1 blk, 1 ast ————
IHart career stats —-
19.3 mins, .592% FG, 6.7 pts, 6.3 reb
1 blk, 2 ast ————
And this is with a more productive yr this year. And he’s 26 yrs old.
Now I posted this last year when IHart went to OKC. Not to hate on him. To show the hate for Wiseman. How ridiculous it is. One guy gets 30 mill a yr. One guy gets crushed for not being developed right by two teams. You know what happens to 19 yr olds who get their confidence crushed by teams …..
I said this when he was drafted. Imo Wiseman can be better than Mitch. Has better offensive skills. And is a better athlete. Still believe it.
How is that not worth achieving for a franchise. You see Moses Brown at 25 right.
Love IHart he’s a big piece for Thunder. Imo he’s overpaid. 19 mins a game 30 mill. He has three yrs to win a title. Thats why they got him. A missing piece. Good for him. I pray Knicks pick up Wiseman next year. Thibs can help him. Lije he did Mitch, IHart, Hukporti, Sims …….
Can’t teach size. You develop it !!!!!!