Thibodeau’s strategy pays off big for Bulls
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau is enjoying this playoff series against Atlanta the way a commoner would relish a weekend in Ibiza with the royal couple.
“This is a great time of the year,” Thibodeau said. “You work all season to get to this point, and these are great games. It’s going to test you in a lot different ways. You have to have resolve. You have to be able to stay together. I think it’s the best time of the year.”
With the Andy Williams Christmas Album playing in his head (you know, “Most wonderful time of the year”), Thibodeau went off the charts Tuesday to deliver a winning strategy in Game 5 at the United Center.
He left Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah and Kyle Korver on the bench for the entire fourth quarter and rode a lineup that featured Taj Gibson, Omer Asik and Ronnie Brewer with Derrick Rose and Luol Deng.
The Bulls outscored Atlanta 26-15 in the fourth quarter to secure a vital 95-83 victory. The Bulls lead this second-round series 3-2 and can wrap it up with a win Thursday at Philips Arena.
“Coach always said we’re going to have to walk through the fire together,” said Derrick Rose after piling up 33 points and 9 assists. “We’re doing a great job of sticking together, but we still have a long way to go.”
Each one of these games has been a college course in itself, complete with cram sessions, midterms and final exams. The Bulls struggled in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss in Atlanta, but Thibodeau and the Bulls aced the final before their home crowd.
Atlanta coach Larry Drew is a longtime NBA assistant getting his first shot as a head coach. Drew is no slouch and is going right at Thibodeau like a determined quiz-show contestant.
Drew altered his starting lineup before Game 4 and managed to convince his Hawks to attack the Bulls with ball movement. The Bulls had been pressuring top scorer Joe Johnson with extra defenders, counting on Atlanta to force up tough shots.
That happened plenty of times early in Game 5, and the Bulls opened a 32-17 lead late in the first quarter. But the Hawks kept sharing the ball and creeping closer. They held a 70-69 lead early in the fourth quarter after Jeff Teague (21 points) finished a driving lay-in.
The Bulls typically return the starters to the floor in the fourth quarter and almost always use Kyle Korver down the stretch to space the floor and provide outside shooting. But Korver had trouble matching up defensively against Atlanta’s three-guard offense of Johnson, Teague and Jamal Crawford.
So Thibodeau used the 7-foot Asik to clog the lane. Brewer, meanwhile, has the speed to double-team and recover quickly, while Gibson gave the Bulls another mobile big man.
“All three guys are blue-collar workers,” Drew said. “They came out and you felt their presence physically. They worked harder than we did. You’ve just got to give credit where credit is due.”
The reason the Bulls probably never stuck with this lineup before in a fourth quarter is defenses would theoretically gang up on Rose and force the Bulls to fire up outside shots.
Didn’t happen Tuesday. Until Gibson knocked down a couple of 15-footers for the Bulls’ final 2 baskets of the game, the home team scored every basket within 5 feet of the rim.
“We were just playing with a good pace,” Rose said. “Off of a miss, push the ball, making sure on the offensive end, guys are setting screens, guys are waiting for the screens and executing our plays at the end.”
Rose and Gibson scored 11 points each in the fourth quarter. Gibson hit all 5 of his shots. Rose’s driving lay-in gave the Bulls the lead for good with 11 minutes left. Gibson’s lay-in and 3-point play provided some cushion with a 76-70 lead.
Atlanta was still within 85-79 with just less than five minutes left when Gibson scored 6 points in an 8-0 run. He pump-faked Josh Smith into the air and hit a short hook to make it an 8-point lead. Then Rose and Gibson hit runners and Gibson drained the foul-line jumper to put the Bulls in control at 93-79 with 2:21 left.
“We’ve said all along, we’re very confident in our bench,” Thibodeau said. “Our bench has played well for us all season long. If someone is going well for us, we’ll ride that group.”
That’s the thesis for Game 6, anyway. Both coaches have a day off to get ready for anything.
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