Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Another night, another milestone for Stephen Curry. The Golden State Warriors superstar moved up the all-time scoring list, passing a Hall-of-Famer Dominque Wilkins, while leading the Warriors with 31 points Friday night in their 112-95 win over the Lakers. Will Richard freed up Curry with a hard screen of Matisse Thybulle about four minutes into the fourth quarter, Curry received a pass from Draymond Green and buried a wide-open triple.
Benjamin Royer: Lakers’ Matisse Thybulle on Damian Lillard’s return to Portland: “I've known Dame for a long time. Having lived in Portland for a few years, I know how much it means to him because he loves that city, he loves that team. I think it's a pretty cool story arc of anyone's career.”
Benjamin Royer: “Makes my job a lot easier,” Matisse Thybulle said of Lakers star Luka Dončić’s 52-point game on Sunday. “I just gotta play some defense. But, yeah, he's a special player. He's one of those freaks of nature where even if you just watch in practice, he does crazy things.”
Law Murray: Collin Sexton (lower right leg) will not make his Lakers debut tonight vs Warriors Quentin Grimes started first four preseason games. Matisse Thybulle started preseason finale Friday, in part to see Grimes in a 6Man role
Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Matisse Thybulle will change his number from 26 to 4, the Lakers announce. New roster:
Advertisement
The appeal of Kessler, 25, beyond being on the same career timeline as Doncic and the 28-year-old Austin Reaves, is his skill set, which should allow Redick to employ a base defense he is more comfortable with. "We have the guys that can pick up full court and guard and be disruptive and then we have Walker back there," Redick said of this year's team, which also includes Sexton, Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle. The Lakers switched 40.6% of the time against on-ball screens in the last two seasons under Redick, the highest rate in the league over that time, according to GeniusIQ.
Redick said the plan was for Matisse Thybulle, who’s averaged 17.6 minutes per game over the last two seasons, to play 25 minutes on Friday and then see how his body responds to the workload. “There certainly is a capacity that you need to have to play 30-plus minutes,” Redick said. “So it’s physically just something we’re gonna have to manage all season. But I feel like we have a great plan in place and Matisse has, I talked to him [on Thursday], he has a lot of confidence in the plan and a lot of confidence in our training staff.”
Playing without star center Walker Kessler, who missed the game with a finger injury, and guard Austin Reaves (ankle), Doncic led the Lakers with 21 points. He took a hard knee to the side of his quad midway through the second quarter, but stayed in the game. With the Lakers up 26 points at halftime, Doncic didn’t need to return. “We all had fun out there,” said Doncic, who relished the chance to play in his first competitive basketball game in six months, one of the longest breaks of his career. “Especially with Matisse [Thybulle] and Ziaire [Williams], just that beginning of the game, the start, that’s contagious for everybody, and how they start the game, it was inspirational.”
Benjamin Royer: Lakers guard Austin Reaves on Wednesday: “Trying to score on Matisse (Thybulle) and Ziaire (Williams), especially with Adou (Thiero) out there too, and then Walker (Kessler) on the back line is not easy. “I had to deal with that all day yesterday and today, and it's not fun.”
Benjamin Royer: JJ Redick on Matisse Thybulle: “Matisse is such a unique player; he just really is. I think our guys, hopefully, at some point this season, will pick up on the fact that if he's in the passing lane, you shouldn't pass the ball over there because he's probably going to steal it.“
Advertisement
This offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers identified one of their biggest roster needs as perimeter defense. The roster sorely needed players that could wreak havoc on that end of the court and they were able to bring in one of the best in the league in Matisse Thybulle. After being drafted in 2019 by the Philadelphia 76ers, Thybulle has spent the the last nearly four seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. Injuries have severely hampered him over the past couple years, but now he has an opportunity to bounce back in a big way with the Lakers, and that is part of what led him to choose a whole new jersey number.
“I chose 26 because my two numbers that I’ve worn in the NBA are 22 and 4. Adds up to 26,” Thybulle said in a Getting to Know segment on Lakers’ YouTube. “So yeah, I chose this number because I just feel like it’s a new chapter, a fresh start, but still knowing what got me here. It’s a number I’ve never worn, a color I’ve never worn, a whole lot of newness. I think it’s a special opportunity to play for such a historic franchise, an accomplished franchise. To contribute in an arena and wearing a jersey that so many great players have worn is something I’m excited about.”
Sean Highkin: My favorite memory of Matisse’ time here was when he came in the locker room excited to show us his new watch, and it was a $15 Casio digital watch with a Velcro strap. He thought it was the coolest thing in the world that you could cycle through time zones with a button. One of the most thoughtful and interesting dudes I’ve ever covered. I wish he wasn’t injured as much as he was so he could have done more press conferences because those were always a trip.
