Portland Trail Blazers guard Matisse Thybulle endured roughly five months of living in professional frustration while missing the team’s first 66 games.
“It’s been tough to be a basketball player who can’t play basketball,” Thybulle said after Friday’s practice.
Thybulle has missed time before, of course, but never this much. A knee injury during training camp followed by a severely sprained right ankle in November led to seemingly endless rehabilitation and annoyance with his situation.
He returned to the active roster during Wednesday night’s overtime loss to the New York Knicks but did not play. His role with 15 games remaining for the 28-39 Blazers is cloudy. But for now, he’s simply happy to be back in uniform.
“It’s so frustrating to not be able to just do what you know you’re capable of,” he said. “For me, that’s probably the most exciting thing. Just to be able to be back to using my body the way I’m used to. Being able to call on it to do things that I’ve always known I can do.”
Thybulle, a defensive-minded competitor, is Blazers coach Chaucey Billups' type of player. Thybulle appeared in 65 games last season with 19 starts. But the Blazers' current rotation is very well set.
Thybulle and backup center Robert Williams III, who missed 11 games with a knee injury, returned the same night, but neither played.
“I didn’t feel good at all about just playing them,” Billups said. “I hadn’t seen (Thybulle) in a while. Rob, obviously, I feel a little better about. But Tisse, I hadn’t seen Tisse with the team yet.”
Thybulle practiced with the Rip City Remix on Monday when the Blazers played at Golden State. The Blazers did not practice Tuesday ahead of playing the Knicks on Wednesday. They took Thursday off.
Behind the scenes from Trail Blazers media day
Trail Blazers swingman Matisse Thybulle poses for a photo during media day at the Veteran's Memorial Coliseum in Portland on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
Friday was the first time Billups saw Thybulle on the court with the team since he injured his ankle during a practice before the team played Nov. 20 at Oklahoma City.
“It’s going to be hit and miss, we’ll see,” Billups said regarding his plan for Thybulle. “I just don’t know. But, obviously, I like what I’m seeing out of Tisse. I wanted to see him practice a few times. I think just having the newness and freshness of his legs and his mind and his soul will help us.”
Minutes for Thybulle will be tough to come by. Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson have been the primary guards. Dalano Banton also sees time in the backcourt. The Blazers have often used a three-forward lineup with Deni Avdija or Toumani Camara at guard.
“It’s tough to just inject him into the lineup, into the rotation,” Billups said. “All these guys have kind of been around developing some things. But, I trust Tisse and I trust that whenever I put him in there, he’s gonna play the right way.”
In many ways, the team’s offensive movement and defensive intensity fit Thybulle’s style of play.
“We’re just running around being disruptive, playing fast, shooting and cutting,” Billups said. “It’s perfect for him. So, it sucks that he’s missed this much time, but we’ll see.”
Thybulle recognizes the situation he’s in.
“I’ll get in where I fit in,” Thybulle said. “I really don’t know. Coming into a season this late is kind of crazy. And not wanting to take away from what’s happening because I feel like we found ourselves to a certain degree.”
The ordeal has been frustrating for Thybulle. He was set to return when, during a 2-on-2 drill, he cut to his right and rolled his ankle.
“I heard a nice little pop,” Thybulle said.
The Blazers called it a grade 2 sprain, but Thybulle said it was closer to a grade 3.
“The overarching sentiment is that with ankle sprains this bad, sometimes it’s better just to break it than to sprain it,” Thybulle said. “Because the recovery time with all the torn ligaments just takes so long. And with a bone, it can just heal back up and be just as strong.”
Matisse Thybulle
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, left, dribbles past Portland Trail Blazers guard Matisse Thybulle, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer) APAP
After a while, Thybulle said he was able to accept the reality of his situation and focus on getting better rather than being frustrated.
“Once realizing the severity of the injury, I had to accept that it’s going to take time,” Thybulle said. “And then the relationship just became that of doing my rehab and showing up every day and being excited about the little steps that I was making towards getting back to where I am now. So, it’s been a bit of a journey. Not one I’ve known before.”
One aspect of this ordeal he discovered was that rehabilitating from a major injury kept him busier than when he was healthy and playing.
“Rehab every day takes so much longer,” Thybulle said. “And if we had any sort of team event, practice or anything, my day was twice as long because I’m doing something on the front end and on the back end.”
Thybulle said it’s been frustrating regaining his feel for the game, but is confident that he will be ready when called upon.
“I got to get a feel for the guys, they got to get a feel for me again and playing defense is very much a group effort,” Thybulle said. “I think there’ll be a bit of a learning curve. But I know that my instincts will take over.”
-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook)