What If Thibs Had Taken Over for Doc After 2009-2010?

[PhoSita]

How would things be different, if at all?  Thibs has been the second best coach in the league behind Greg Pops (who is always the best of the best) since he took over as HC of the Bulls. 

I can't help wondering how much more Thibs might have gotten out of the team this season, considering how pathetic they were early in the season even though they had most of their guys healthy.

[Big_Dave31]

Thibs is a great coach, but, his tendency to run his players to the ground would be a problem.
He would net us a better regular season record, but, a shorter playoff run as our vets would be broken down...

[PhoSita]

Thibs is a great coach, but, his tendency to run his players to the ground would be a problem.
He would net us a better regular season record, but, a shorter playoff run as our vets would be broken down...

Maybe.  I just look at how the Bulls win so many games -- including in the playoffs -- even when their personnel is so depleted.

I think even with all the injuries the Celtics would have been a 50 win team under Thibs this season.

[SparzWizard]

Remember when Doc almost got fired before the arrival of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen? Yeaaah wish we had Thibs. 

[NocturnalRebel]

Too many "What If's" for me on this board these days. No disrespect to tha OP or tha post tho.

[PhoSita]

Too many "What If's" for me on this board these days. No disrespect to tha OP or tha post tho.

I feel you, but what else do we have to talk about?  You see all the "what if?"s because the reality we have in front of us is not very palatable.

I mean, do you want to talk about strategy for the Knicks series?  Really?  To me that's like sitting in General Custer's tent as the enemy closes in all around us and talking in earnest about our battle plans.

[CelticsFan9]

Our defense has been pretty much the same in terms of effectiveness, up until this year, so I don't think he would've made as big a difference there as people think.  I mean, we've been running the same defensive strategy since KG got here.

He would've run the starters into the ground.  Although, as we saw in Chicago, if he's got a decent bench (Chicago Bench Mob, as they called themselves), he'll use it.  I thought we had a pretty decent bench this year, but if nobody stepped up under Doc, I don't think they would've stepped up under Thibs.

As evidenced by Chicago's offensive struggles, and our own struggles on that end, I don't think Thibs would've made much of a difference there either.

Do I think Thibs is a better coach than Doc?  Yes.

I don't think things would be much different around here if he was at the helm, though.

[PhoSita]

Our defense has been pretty much the same in terms of effectiveness, up until this year, so I don't think he would've made as big a difference there as people think.  I mean, we've been running the same defensive strategy since KG got here.

He would've run the starters into the ground.  Although, as we saw in Chicago, if he's got a decent bench (Chicago Bench Mob, as they called themselves), he'll use it.  I thought we had a pretty decent bench this year, but if nobody stepped up under Doc, I don't think they would've stepped up under Thibs.

As evidenced by Chicago's offensive struggles, and our own struggles on that end, I don't think Thibs would've made much of a difference there either.

Do I think Thibs is a better coach than Doc?  Yes.

I don't think things would be much different around here if he was at the helm, though.

I think the ultimate results of each season would be the same, I just look at the Bulls and see that their hallmark since Thibs took over is that they fight hard all game long nearly every game.

That definitely hasn't been the case with the Celtics anytime recently.

[BballTim]

Thibs is a great coach, but, his tendency to run his players to the ground would be a problem.
He would net us a better regular season record, but, a shorter playoff run as our vets would be broken down...

Maybe.  I just look at how the Bulls win so many games -- including in the playoffs -- even when their personnel is so depleted.

I think even with all the injuries the Celtics would have been a 50 win team under Thibs this season.

  Maybe. The team still would have struggled when PP and Jet were playing through injuries and Green wasn't up to snuff yet. The main reason we struggled early on was that our defense was pretty poor with the new guys trying to figure things out. You could argue he might have somehow gotten them to learn their roles better early on but he doesn't have some kind of magic wand to fix the Bass/Sully or Bass/Wilcox defenses. And how much success has he had in the playoffs with depleted personnel?

[Fafnir]

I think Thibs would get more consistent defensive effort by hook or crook, but I'm really unsure how a crew of veterans who had just won a title and made a Finals run would respond to him.

Also those who think Doc doesn't use his bench enough would faint at what Thibs does to his guys.

[scaryjerry]

I think doc is the most overrated coach maybe in the history of the NBA, great guy..not great coach and I know this will be retorted by people saying everyone says he's the best (that's why he's overrated)...I also think thibodeau was the real brains behind both our finals teams and a much better coach.
Doc helped develop rondo and road the coattails of the big 3 that's about it.  ....and don't tell me about his coach of the year in Orlando the year before getting fired or I'll have to read you the laundry list of horrible coaches to also win the award.

With that said, we'd have been better off plain and simple....they made a good tandem though so staying together would've been most ideal...an actual coach with a"players coach"

[Roy H.]

Thibs couldn't have done anything about our team's age, injuries, or lack of a big man.  I don't think much would be different, unless Doc's departure led KG to look elsewhere.

[scaryjerry]

And I know this is a change of subject but lol@Derrick rose for not coming back and his manager complain about bulls management not putting enough pieces around him....they were still better then us without him and produced 2 all stars.. Promising young star...bit of an entitled fraud

[KGs Knee]

Oh, how the grass is always greener. 

[Chris]

We would have much less interesting interviews to pick apart, and probably similar results.