Rookie Coach Thibodeau Has Bulls Rolling
Sean Deveney - SportingNews.com
Feb 02, 2011
For Tom Thibodeau, the chance to coach the Bulls has turned out to be a perfect fit. But for Jeff Van Gundy -- one of the head coaches Thibodeau worked for in his 20 years as an assistant -- the question is, what took so long?
Thibodeau has long been respected for his work as a defensive coach, especially over the past three seasons, when he helped shape the Celtics into a team that finished in the top five in points allowed each year. But during that time, Van Gundy says, he was unfairly pigeonholed as a guy who couldn't coach offense and -- because he never played in the league -- would not command the respect of players.
"I always thought that was a total media fabrication," Van Gundy told Sporting News. "Before he became a head coach, I would read people with these sources who said they had this concern about him or that concern. I want to know, why didn't any of these people call me? Or call Doc Rivers? People are acting like they're surprised by the job Tom is doing in Chicago. I am not surprised. He had as much respect as any assistant I've ever had. If I am surprised by anything, it is that he has even surpassed what I thought he would do."
Thibodeau has been one of the better stories of the season, having held together the Bulls through injuries to two All-Star caliber players -- power forward Carlos Boozer and center Joakim Noah. Chicago has had both players in the starting lineup just nine times this season, and the Bulls were in the midst of a seven-game winning streak when Noah went out with a thumb injury on Dec. 15. Still, as they embark on a five-game road trip into the Western Conference Wednesday against the Clippers, the Bulls are 33-14 and battling with the Heat for the No. 2 seed in the East.
It helps that point guard Derrick Rose is having an MVP-caliber season, but credit Thibodeau for holding the rotation together and being flexible with both his offense and defense despite the injuries.
"The one thing we felt good about with our team going into the season was the depth that we had, and obviously I think Derrick is having a tremendous season," Thibodeau told SN. "Also, when you look at our bench, we have a number of guys who have started a lot in the league -- Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, Kurt Thomas, C.J. Watson. So, when they've been called upon, they have played extremely well."
On the defensive end, Thibodeau has delivered as promised. The Bulls are allowing 92.0 points per game, third-best in the league, and a league-low 42.3 percent from the field. That's not a huge surprise, because Chicago led the league in fewest points allowed last year, too. But Thibodeau has even gotten Rose, known as a poor defender, to guard his position credibly, sending him over screens on pick-and-roll plays, which has opened up more opportunities for steals and blocked shots for the All-Star. Thibodeau has demanded and gotten accountability, too -- in early January, when Boozer was playing subpar defense, Thibodeau left him on the bench for the fourth quarter of a loss to the Nets.
Offensively, though, Thibodeau has changed the complexion of the Bulls' attack. He's given Rose more responsibility for making decisions on the fly, allowing the Bulls to play off Rose's speed and penetration. The Bulls are a very efficient fast-break team, and Rose's ability to finish at the rim is among the best in the league. But his ability to draw attention in the lane has also helped create open looks from the 3-point line. Last year, Chicago was second-to-last in 3-point attempts, but this year, they're trying 15.9 3-pointers per game, tied for 17th in the league.
"I think you want to build your offense around what the strengths of your team are, so we started with transition, trying to get Derrick into the open court as much as (we) can," Thibodeau said. "We wanted to try to get as many easy baskets as we could and we wanted to flow into secondary action. From there, we want to have multiple halfcourt sets, try to use those more on dead balls and when the defense is set -- try to get guys to play to their strengths, keep the ball moving, and keep bodies moving."
It's worked. On Tuesday, Thibodeau was named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month after the Bulls went 12-4 in January. He'll get Noah back within the next three weeks -- and from there, coach of the month could become coach of the year.
"With the job he's done, I think he'd get my vote," Van Gundy said.
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