Sixers’ Matisse Thybulle Ruled Out vs. Miami Heat on Saturday
While the Philadelphia 76ers have been getting healthy and are on a roll, the team is still dealing with a couple of crucial setbacks as we reach the halfway mark of the season.
On Saturday night, the Sixers will participate in their 42nd game of the year against the Miami Heat for the second night of a back-to-back.
As expected, Philadelphia will miss a couple of players while dealing with notable setbacks. For starters, backup point guard Shake Milton will miss his sixth-straight game on Saturday.
Milton took a hard fall in the second half of a Monday night matchup against the Houston Rockets two weeks back. After getting diagnosed with a back contusion, Milton was ruled out for the rest of the evening. Since that night, Milton hasn’t seen the court, and it seems he might miss a significant amount of time as Doc Rivers offered a not-so-promising update on the veteran guard on Friday.
In addition to Milton, the Sixers will also be without Danny Green for the second-straight game on Saturday. Earlier this week, Green took a fall in the first half of the Wednesday night matchup against the Charlotte Hornets. Green was experiencing hip pain, which caused him to play less than ten minutes on Wednesday and miss Friday’s game. He’s been ruled out against the Heat as well.
What About Thybulle?
While Green and Milton’s eventual absences on Saturday don’t come as a shock, Matisse Thybulle becomes the newest member of the Sixers’ injury report as he’s been ruled out as well.
During Friday night’s game against Boston, Thybulle was having quite a night for himself on both ends of the floor. Unfortunately, the young guard took a scary fall after throwing down a breakaway dunk. It was a promising sign to see Thybulle get back up and stay on the court to attempt his free throws.
Thybulle remained in the game for a little longer, but eventually, the third-year defensive ace was ruled out for the rest of the evening. According to a team official, Thybulle was experiencing right shoulder soreness. Following Friday night’s Sixers win over the Celtics, head coach Doc Rivers mentioned he wasn’t sure if Thybulle would be able to play on Saturday.
As it turns out, he won’t get the green light to go. According to Philly’s Saturday afternoon injury report, Thybulle is out for the night with shoulder soreness. Per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Thybulle didn’t travel to Miami with the Sixers on Friday night.
It’s unclear if Thybulle’s absence will extend beyond Saturday night, but the earliest he could return to the floor is on Monday afternoon when the Sixers pay a visit to the Washington Wizards.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
