Joakim Noah admits that Tom Thibodeau doesn’t quite grasp concept of resting players

Thibs is all business, all game long, even in blowouts
 

It's widely-known around the NBA that the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, former Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau, doesn't take crap from very many people and also doesn't care very much about what others think of him team, himself, or even his actions as coach. Thusly, his practice of playing his best players–like Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, and Luol Deng for example–for almost all 48 minutes even in blowouts has been questioned constantly by those around the league for both pure curiosity and wondering as to why a coach would risk the health of his stars, his commodities, by having them exerted so much in non-close contests.

Finally, a Bulls player confronted this so-called "elephant in the room" after Chicago's easy win over the Nets on Saturday night in the Windy City. All-Star center Noah, who played 41 minutes in the Bulls' 11-point win over Brooklyn, said post-game that his coach just doesn't understand the whole "resting players" thing but that he, Noah, is fine with it because it is in the interest of winning. 

From the Chicago Sun-Times: "It's [regarding the challenge 40-minutes-a-game presents] definitely physical…definitely both. It's not really right after the game, but the next morning is the roughest. We have a great coach, but he doesn't understand the whole resting [thing] yet, I don't think. So…it's all good. We all want to win. So, it's good."

At least Thibs' players can understand where the hard-nosed, perennial Coach-of-the-Year candidate is coming from when they are forced to play 40+ minutes in game where Chicago is holding comfortable leads. His only interest is winning, and I guess part of his winning philosophy is literally never talking the proverbial foot off the gas pedal, which he thinks can be done by utilizing the best-possible lineup he has available at whatever point of any game, regardless of score. At least we can give him some points for originality.

About Josh Burton

I'm a New York native who has been a Nets season ticket holder, in both New Jersey and now Brooklyn, since birth. Northwestern University (Medill School of Journalism) '18

Quantcast