(Tom Thibodeau, Chicago Bulls)
When the season started out last October, and on into the beginning of 2011, a lot of media and fans were pointing to Jerry Sloan as the clear winner for this award. Coach of the Utah Jazz for 23 years, part of 10 fifty win seasons and taking his team to the NBA Finals twice, it seemed he would be chosen as Coach of the Year based on his past accomplishments and what he was likely to accomplish this year.
The true reason behind Jerry Sloan's sudden retirement will never be known, and even though Greg Poppovich's San Antonio Spurs hold the best record in the NBA as of today, former Boston Celtics defensive coach Tom Thibodeau is the obvious choice.
The true reason behind Jerry Sloan's sudden retirement will never be known, and even though Greg Poppovich's San Antonio Spurs hold the best record in the NBA as of today, former Boston Celtics defensive coach Tom Thibodeau is the obvious choice.
Coach of the Year:
Tom Thibodeau, Chicago Bulls
Tom Thibodeau was hired as the 2010-11 coach of the Chicago Bulls while still part of the Boston Celtics coaching staff during the 2009-10 NBA finals. During what was possibly the most anticipated summer in sports free agency history, Tom Thibodeau had no idea if the 8th place 2009-10 Chicago Bulls would have added an elite player in Dwayne Wade or LeBron James, but he had no reason to worry, they already had Derrick Rose.
The Bulls also had a young and energetic Joakim Noah's dominating presence under the basket and added 2 time All-Star Carlos Boozer from the Utah Jazz through free agency. Long time Chicago Bull, Luol Deng, has seen his stats on a steady rise and with an efficient bench, scoring would not be a problem. Tom Thibodeau knew this coming in and began turning the teams focus towards defense.
Along with Celtitcs head coach Doc Rivers, it was Tom Thibodeau's defensive strategy that created the dominant defensive personality in Boston, turning them from a 24-58 team in 2007, to 66-16 champions in 2008. As mentioned in my last post, the Bulls are second in the entire NBA when it comes to defensive efficiency. Proving that players are capable of adapting to Thibodeau's system quickly and that it truly works..
With Rose, Boozer, Noah and Deng combing for an average of 70 points per game you can see why the Bulls are now 1st place in the Eastern Conference this year. With the greatest team turn around in the 10-11 season, along with it being his 1st year in Chicago, I can find little reason not to give the award to Tom.
The Bulls also had a young and energetic Joakim Noah's dominating presence under the basket and added 2 time All-Star Carlos Boozer from the Utah Jazz through free agency. Long time Chicago Bull, Luol Deng, has seen his stats on a steady rise and with an efficient bench, scoring would not be a problem. Tom Thibodeau knew this coming in and began turning the teams focus towards defense.
Along with Celtitcs head coach Doc Rivers, it was Tom Thibodeau's defensive strategy that created the dominant defensive personality in Boston, turning them from a 24-58 team in 2007, to 66-16 champions in 2008. As mentioned in my last post, the Bulls are second in the entire NBA when it comes to defensive efficiency. Proving that players are capable of adapting to Thibodeau's system quickly and that it truly works..
With Rose, Boozer, Noah and Deng combing for an average of 70 points per game you can see why the Bulls are now 1st place in the Eastern Conference this year. With the greatest team turn around in the 10-11 season, along with it being his 1st year in Chicago, I can find little reason not to give the award to Tom.
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