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If the Los Angeles Lakers don’t play their cards right, they could experience a premature playoff exit despite boasting an early 3-0 series lead over the Houston Rockets.
The Rockets have quickly trimmed Los Angeles’ lead to one, and could even the series at three games apiece on Friday. A historical playoff blunder would force the Lakers to make significant roster adjustments in the offseason.
In Lake Show Life’s Svyatoslav Rovenchuk’s opinion, one of those adjustments could be signing a former Philadelphia 76ers defensive star to assist Luka Doncic.
“Matisse Thybulle ticks a lot of the right boxes for the Lakers,” Rovenchuk wrote Friday. “Thybulle has always been a strong defender. It is the growth from beyond the arc that Los Angeles should be quite excited about.”
“In 2025-26, the two-way wing shot 39.8% on his long ball attempts. In 2024-25, that number was at 43.8 percent from deep.”
“Even with Thybulle's All-Defensive Team days behind him, the Blazers wing is still a strong option on that end. That is something the Lakers will need to add in bunches when the roster makeover commences.”
Unfortunately for Thybulle, injuries have hindered the 29-year-old’s production in Portland the past two seasons. Thybulle has only appeared in 45 of the Trail Blazers’ last 164 regular-season contests due to various ailments.
Still, the Washington product should garner moderate interest on the free agent market this summer.
Given his proven track record as a perimeter defender (he earned two All-Defensive second team nods with the 76ers earlier in his career) and evolution as a three-point shooter (he’s only shot below 35% from three once since the start of the 2022-23 season), the Lakers should be open to bringing him on board in the offseason.
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