The NBA playoffs are just about the only time of the year when each opponent is playing only their best players, with their highest intensity level, in an all out effort to defeat you. When this happens in the regular season we say the game had a "playoff atmosphere" or some other similar terminology. It doesn't happen every night. Otherwise, throughout the 82 game regular season, you're meeting up with and competing against teams that are A. playing a lower intensity (perhaps only slightly, but still lower) and B. have a differing set of goals for the game. They'd like to win, but if they don't, well, it was in service to longer range goals: resting their best players, developing their young talent, or a combination of the two. And then, sometimes, you play teams that are tanking: the organization has clearly taken a whole season (or more) off from seriously competing. That's why the playoff record is so important and so telling. It's the best against the best, and it lays bare how well the various parts of the organization (coaching staff, players, front office) really function relative to the best of the other organizations in the Association.
Doesn't playoff record apply to management? They put together the rosters and hire the coach. Our GMs advanced to the 2nd round in the playoffs once without Thibs (since they got rid of Jordan/Pippen/Jackson). Fire them for poor performance. They're not fired because... PROFIT.
With all the injuries, it isn't the best against the best though. That's the problem. Bulls are not the only franchise with this issue. Thunder, Cavs, Wizards, Hawks all struck by injuries during this key playoff window this season. Even with Jen Swanson restrictions Gasol still got hurt this season in the playoffs and Noah was gimpy. Jimmy Butler, who led the league in MPG, played great however. Also, I'm sure Gasol liked making the all-star team and making the all-NBA 2nd team. As fans, many liked seeing Gasol do this as well. He needed minutes to put up the stats to do that. What's the point of an 82 game season if the playoffs are all that matter? The answer of course is revenue, since this is a business, but those 82 games are just opportunities for the athletes to get injured and some feel that the wins and losses don't matter. The fans showing up to the games and watching them like to see their team win these regular season games though. Also, a sports league isn't really legitimate if they are fielding contests where the two teams are not trying hard to win the games. The Spurs got in a bit of hot water for this.
Gotta keep players away from gym bags, from eating apples in bed, from riding motorcycles, or anyone away from Paxson
Also, playoff record isn't really what matters. Winning playoff series is more important. If you win a series 4-1 vs 4-2 or lose one 0-4 or 3-4 it kind of matters, but not really. The Bulls under Thibs beat the teams they were better than. They tended to lose to the teams they were worse than. (FYI, that's kind of how sports usually works) Often times it was Lebron James that delivered the death blow. Bulls are not the only NBA franchise that have run into that buzzsaw.
Statistically, the greater the number of observations, the more reliable the conclusions. That's the problem with trying to draw conclusions based on playoff records...too few games. In the case of Thibodeau and Bulls management, there are ready injury-based explanations for the basically meh Bulls playoff performances over the past 5 seasons. Besides, I don't think Thibodeau was released because Bulls' management believed that he was a bad coach. They released him because some key players had grown tired of him and because he generally did not play nice with the front office.
A common problem with the latter and Paxson, given the way Vinny Del Negro went out. The Celtics seemed to like Thibs quite a lot. Coach K seems happy with Thibs on Team USA.
If you piss off your bosses, bad things tend to happen to you. Having spent my career in HR, you're right, it's a common problem. The Celts and Coach K should absolutely LOVE Thibodeau. He's perfectly suited to the assistant coaching role.
Concur. Pax said as much when he said a trip to the finals and they wouldn't be sitting there (at the press conference). Being the voice at the top of the coaching staff and not having the results is drastically different from being one of a few assistants when there are results.
But not having results doesn't reflect at all on management. They have nothing to do with the product on the floor, right?
Look carefully, there's a parenthetical phrase in the last paragraph of the first post that may interest you.
Its a very common problem with Paxson. Del Negro had three years with the Clippers post Bulls. There was no violence there and Del Negro got along with his bosses. The NBA champion Celtics were Thibs' bosses and liked him just fine. His NBA Champion ex-players have good things to say about him. Many Celtics fans give Thibs more credit that Doc for that title. Coach K is one of the most successful college coaches of all time. That boss seem to like Thibs just fine as well. Paxson had an issue with his head coach. But he had one with Del Negro too. (choked him) We all agree that Thibs will be a head coach again after his 5 year run in his first stab at it. He was a very successful head coach here. Just ask leading analytics analysis site fivethirtyeight. http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-bulls-just-fired-one-of-the-best-coaches-in-nba-history/ The Bulls Just Fired One Of The Best Coaches In The NBA
Anyone can copy headlines. www.blogabull.com/2015/5/29/8684141/tom-thibodeau-was-wronged-but-keeping-him-wasnt-right
One thing is for sure about the Blog a Bull post, there are no real winners. Certainly not Bulls fans. Ron Adams might be a winner here out of all this mess. He got out and is in a better place. Lebron still might gobble up his defense though.
Last week you said it was Thibs that won, because he gets all that sweet, sweet cash -- and doesn't have to work for it. And now he's a loser? Some intellectual honesty, there buddy.
