NBA season preview: 5 big questions for Philadelphia 76ers

4. Does Matisse Thybulle deserve starter minutes?

This is a two-tiered question. Right now Matisse Thybulle is injured. He missed the team’s second preseason game with a shoulder injury. He will likely miss another week before he can possibly come back. Losing important time in the preseason hurts for a player like Thybulle, who is trying to prove something before the start of the season.

Thybulle is one of the best defensive players on the team. He has that side of the game down, but the third-year guard needs to prove he can do it on the offensive side of the ball. He’s averaged 4.3 points per game over his career. That’s not going to cut it in the NBA, even from a defensive stalworth.

Offenses can’t operate with a black hole. It provides them at such a disadvantage that the advantage on the defensive side of the ball is wiped out. Thybulle needs to be better offensively, and apparently, he’s been working on that side of the ball all offseason, but without proof of concept, the 76ers can’t give him more minutes than they already have.

Thybulle will clearly be a key part of the rotation, but most expect him to take a huge step forward in year three. That won’t happen if he is dealing with an injury at the start and he doesn’t have time to test a new offensive approach before the games count.