Thibs' defense was #1 in the league last year. How did the league change all of a sudden from one year to the next?
Great post. You might be right. I also think the league has moved away from physical play /defense and more towards the softer finesse skills, which helps out the Euro style of ball. Of course, there are big euro guys with great skills who just are not NBA players. Skita and Darko come to mind. Also, the American playground mindset has always been take it strong to the hole and playing with no fouls vs finesse skills. I think AAU ball is often dominated by the guards / forwards who can break guys down off the dribble and shoot a fair amount, so you're right, the big guys don't get to develop as much. The Thibs D has diffused across the league. Up until last season, the Bulls still had an elite defense. So, sure, more of the league is using it and the stretch 4 is an excellent weapon to weaken it. Still though, the Bulls had a top defense last season. As that defense scheme diffuses, there is less of a value add of having the innovator of it as your head coach. It doesn't help much anymore to have Bill James as your baseball consultant or D'Antoni as your head coach either, those principles, while innovative at one time, are now common place. But, NBA head coach is more than being an innovator, its about getting the most out of your players and having them believe in you. I think Thibs still has that. And he's still an excellent Xs and Os guy, especially on the defensive side of the ball. I think the falloff this season had to do more with Gasol getting heavy minutes and Noah taking a step back physically and having to play out of position. Thibs' D needs athletic rim protectors at the 4 and 5. Noah should not be the 4 and have to close out on 4s. Gibson being gimpy / absent at times didn't help either. Mirotic isn't the type of guy to be a 4 in the THibs' D as much. Give him Anthony Davis and Asik? I think its going to be hard to score. I don't think the Bulls have the horses to be title contenders, so the head coach doesn't' matter as much. Rose isn't a superstar, its not even clear if he's a great player at his position anymore. Butler is of course great, but not a superstar. Gotta have the horses. At some point, if everyone has a stretch 4, then someone will come up with a way to counter that, and it will be the new trend. Also, the Cavs look like they are rolling with Tristan and Mosgov and the Clips have Griffin and Jordan, so its not like its universal among the better teams in the league.
Whatever happens to Thibodeau, he has the support of his players. "Thibs, we grew a bond together. With him being [an assistant coach] on USA Basketball,” Bulls point guard Derrick Rose said. “Him coming out to L.A. to check up on me after my surgeries when I was working out out there. I think we really have a bond, so it's not up to my decision. I loved him as a coach." “If you want to be coached and pushed, Thibs is the coach for you," forward Taj Gibson said. "If you don’t want to get better, this isn’t the team for you." http://www.si.com/nba/2015/05/15/chicago-bulls-tom-thibodeau-coaching-future
I was surprised to see this stuff. You're right, you usually don't see this kind of support in advance of a firing. This is not what Rose was saying at the beginning of the season. Maybe its because the writing is on the wall? Regardless, Thibs can put that on his resume.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-bulls-just-fired-one-of-the-best-coaches-in-nba-history/ Does the regular season matter or not?
I wonder what type of bond Freddy has formed with his players? Rose and Gibson seem to be playing a lot poorer this year for this coach than the previous one. Bulls looked lazy out there down the stretch. Mirotic and McDermott were in at the end though.
Ha, good one. Sad to see the Bulls on the decline from when he was coach though. Fred deserves some time to learn how to be a NBA coach for the first time though. For a coach hired to juice the offense though, the early returns are less than promising. The Bulls are currently one of the worst offensive teams in the league under "Hoiball." This seemed to be an example of you discounting Thibs' success based on it being "only" regular season.
