If there is one thing the 2018 NBA Playoffs have proved so far, it’s that Former Bulls Coach Tom Thibodeau had it wrong, and still does, when it comes to suppressing rookie-playing time.
While there were many other reasons why the Bulls and Thibodeau separated 3 years ago, his inability to adapt to a younger and faster NBA, in which rookies thrive, sealed his fate in Chicago, and may do the same in Minnesota.
The 2018 NBA Playoffs have been a rookie All-Star Game, primarily featuring likely Rookie of the Year Donovan Mitchell in Utah and Boston’s Jayson Tatum. Both took the playoffs by storm, with Mitchell averaging 24.4 PPG, to go along with Tatum’s 18.2. Neither the Jazz nor the Celtics would have been in the positions they were in during the playoffs without these two sensational rookies, and the Celtics and Tatum are even more of a surprising story.
A sample of the best of Donovan Mitchell's rookie season. Watch the entire 🎥by @MPett3 here: https://t.co/y3fgmKmFlQ #utahjazz #TakeNote #nba pic.twitter.com/ATiuVmmKH9
— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) May 22, 2018
Many critics would have predicted that the Celtics would have already been out of the playoffs by now, losing both Kyrie Irving and Gordon Heyward for their 2018 postseason run. But the play of Tatum, to go along with Terry Rozier III bursting on the scene has propelled them to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Jayson Tatum pull-up in rhythm!#CUsRise 47 | #WhateverItTakes 37
📺: @ESPNNBA pic.twitter.com/vYrErAKcRI
— NBA (@NBA) May 24, 2018
But if Tom Thibodeau had coached this Celtics team, would they have even gotten past the first round? Without Heyward, Irving, Tatum (just because he’s a rookie) and likely a hesitancy to play both Jaylen Brown and Rozier, the Celtics would have been overmatched and worn down, only relying on players with 4 or more years’ experience in the NBA. And with this Celtics team being one of the younger teams in the league, those players would have been hard to come by. Maybe Thibodeau would have flexed his muscle to sign Mike Dunleavy or Matt Barnes, forwards that are way past their prime, but still, fit Thibodeau’s vision of the NBA of yesteryear.
Jayson Tatum wants this series to end right here pic.twitter.com/40aVjt9bIh (via @NBA)
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) May 26, 2018
Veterans always come first for Thibodeau, but that old way of thinking can no longer work if the best player available on a given night is 21 years old.
The first example that comes to mind is current Bull, Kris Dunn. Dunn’s first year in the NBA was in Minnesota under Thibs and it was not a season anyone wanted to remember. Dunn averaged just 3.8 points per game while averaging 17.1 minutes per game, as he rode the bench behind Ricky Rubio. Dunn started just 7 times in 78 games played. The Bulls were still interested in the guard out of Providence they wanted to draft in 2016, and when they acquired him for the 2017-2018 season, his fortunes changed. Under Fred Hoiberg’s offense, Dunn averaged 13.4 points per game and 29.3 minutes per game, despite the fact his season was cut short after biting a chunk out of the United Center floor against the Warriors.
Your daily reminder that Kris Dunn is really, really good: pic.twitter.com/oJEIbt5WP5
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 14, 2018
When given the chance to play, Dunn flourished. He didn’t need to sit behind ‘veteran’ Cameron Payne, which John Paxson would have probably wanted in his perfect basketball utopia. He needed to play and have his coach trust him, which happened in 2018. If Thibodeau was still coaching the Bulls, Dunn would have never seen the floor, and questions would continue to remain surrounding why the Bulls would have acquired him.
The two examples that always stand out during Thibodeau’s time with the Bulls was his refusal to play Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott in 2015. Say what you will about McDermott’s career so far, maybe he’ll become a ‘poor man’s’ J.J. Reddick someday, but Thibs’ inability to effectively put Mirotic in the 2015 rotation was baffling. While ‘Three-kola’ had his ups and downs with the Bulls, his tremendous effort in the playoffs for the Pelicans, and his ability to play just good enough to not allow the Bulls to have a top 5 pick in the draft this year shows again how Mirotic could’ve impacted the 2015 season.
Anthony Davis & Nikola Mirotic combine for 39 points in the @PelicansNBA Game 2 W!#DoItBigger #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/4J4rmjTIhm
— NBA (@NBA) April 18, 2018
While the Bulls were not a championship team that year, in hindsight, fans cannot help but wonder about the impact those two could’ve had, as the Bulls needed all the three-point scoring help they could have gotten during Thibodeau’s tenure in Chicago.
The NBA has changed, just like football has, where offensive scoring has taken precedence over defense. Tom Thibodeau has always been a defensive-minded coach first, but that has proven to be a fault in the modern NBA. In Thibodeau’s mind, if the rookies weren’t ready on defense, they were not going to play, no matter their scoring capability they may have had to win an extra game or two in the playoffs.
Thibodeau’s sequential coaching style of defense-first, offense-second spelled his end in Chicago, and with unhappy reports out of Minnesota, this philosophy could do him in once again.
The 2018 Timberwolves looked like the 2015 Bulls with Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson and Derrick Rose giving meaningful minutes to Tom Thibodeau. Fans can probably agree that Thibodeau would be the ONLY coach in the NBA to still give Derrick Rose meaningful minutes in a playoff game.
This Week In #Bulls History:
On 2/24/11, Derrick Rose hits several clutch shots down the stretch before his beautiful drive and dish for a Luol Deng corner 3 seals the win over Wade, LeBron and the Heatles, 93-89. #BullsNation pic.twitter.com/7hmnnVR8mU
— Locked On Bulls (@LockedOnBulls) February 20, 2018
If Thibs had played young guard Tyus Jones throughout the year, or given a chance to Jason Patton (even if he was playing behind Karl-Anthony Towns/ in the G-League at times), maybe we could’ve had a storyline like we are seeing in Boston or Utah. But instead, Thibodeau stuck to his stubborn ways, overworked his veteran rotation, and is now reportedly at odds with star Karl Anthony Towns, as the T-Wolves are set for another first round exit with the same cast of characters in 2019. Is that what Timberwolves fans deserve after their first playoff berth in 14 years?
History keeps repeating itself for Tom Thibodeau and if he’s not careful, his lucrative deal and relationships with the Timberwolves could quickly run sour. His brute and old-fashioned style has already cost him one opportunity with the Bulls, and it could come back to bite him again in Minnesota.
