Thibodeau has respect of Bulls, NBA

Besides making a winner of the Bulls, coach Tom Thibodeau could be pushing a revolution in the NBA.

There seemed to be a growing sentiment in NBA circles that a head coach needed to be a former player. The coach would only get the players' respect, the theory went, if they knew he'd been through the same battles they were fighting.

That might be one reason the Bulls settled on Vinny Del Negro in 2008 instead of waiting for Thibodeau to finish winning a championship as an assistant with the Boston Celtics.

There's a valid reason this mind-set became popular. Most of the standout coaches of the last 20 years fit the mold: Decent to good player who wasn't a superstar but stuck around the league for several years.

The list includes Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, Larry Brown, Don Nelson, Jerry Sloan, George Karl, Lenny Wilkens, Doc Rivers, Rick Carlisle, all the way to last season's coach of the year, Scott Brooks.

Respect hasn't been an issue with Thibodeau and the Bulls. The players came in knowing he coached in the Finals two of the last three seasons.

“Thibs may be the most prepared coach in the league,” Carlos Boozer said. “We trust in him and what his game plan is, then we go out and try to execute it.”

The patron saint of non-player NBA coaches was at the United Center on Thursday. Not surprisingly, San Antonio's Gregg Popovich stood firmly in Thibodeau's corner.

“He knows what he's doing,” Popovich said. “If he's not the best, he's one of the best, as far as understanding defense. And not just understanding, being able to teach it, getting people to understand it and making them accountable and not giving in after a month or two months.

“He's going to keep drilling, keep demanding. They're going to know it. It's just really not a surprise to any of us who have been around him or been in the league for a while.”

Popovich still turns to his “I'm just the dummy who gets to coach Tim Duncan” routine on occasion. But he didn't win four titles by accident. When everyone wrote off the Spurs after last season, Popovich sped up the team's pace and produced the league's best record so far.

Bulls guard Keith Bogans is the perfect source to compare Popovich and Thibodeau, since he spent last season with the Spurs.

“They have basically the same mind-set — defense first,” Bogans said. “They're no-nonsense guys. They want guys that are going to work hard. They're definitely going to get their point across. If you're not getting it done, then they'll get someone else who can do it. That's what I take from both of them.”

Asked how Thibodeau earned the players' respect so quickly, Bogans thought the first-time NBA head coach made it clear right away what was expected and so far, everyone has followed the plan.

“He knows how to get along with the guys,” Bogans said. “He knows how to talk to guys. I just think he's been around long enough to know how to interact. He gets on guys from time to time, especially me. I'm a guy he goes at all the time.”

As the league hits the all-star break, the coaching lines are split. Among the top eight teams in the league, four have coaches who never played in the NBA — Popovich, Thibodeau, Miami's Eric Spoelstra and Orlando's Stan Van Gundy. Four have coaches who did play — Boston's Rivers, the Lakers' Jackson, Dallas' Carlisle and Oklahoma City's Brooks.