It's a good argument and I can see why people would agree with him. But I think it speaks volumes about the direction sports has gone in these days. Way back when, coaches didn't care how hard they rode their players and neither did the public. Thibodeau seems to fit that mold, at least the first part. He steps on the gas every single day of his job and nothing suggests that's about to change. Thanks to skeptics like Bernstein, Thibodeau is painted to be the right coach in the wrong time period. We're so concerned about what's going to happen to players in the future that it''s easy to forget about the need for their talents in the present. How a coach chooses to push Luol Deng and Rip Hamilton nightly is completely up to him.
The only reason to put players on a time limit is if they're coming off an injury. Derrick Rose will be facing that soon and no one will complain. Thibodeau's mantra is if you can play and bring something, you'll play. Since he was hired, I haven't heard one player make even the slightest stink over playing too much. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I just can't recall such a comment.
The NBA has a need to protect its players, but it also works to protect the integrity of the game. That means coaches using their game rosters to put forth every possible effort to win. None of this was made more clear than two months ago when the Spurs were docked a quarter of a million dollars for sending Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green home before a nationally televised road game against the Heat. Yep, the same team coached by the supposed modern-day prototype of his position.
Taking it easy enough on your players one night isn't as big an offense, but in a way, it's still cheating the high-paying customers who walk through the turnstiles night after night and the millions more watching on television and the Internet. Fans should expect nothing less than a 100 percent effort whenever they watch their teams play. It's their hard-earned money going toward an organization worth millions of dollars, so why settle for less?
You don't have to agree with my opinions. I'm just in the camp that says Thibodeau is doing nothing wrong. Many have pointed this out as the one flaw in an otherwise ideal NBA coach. I understand that injuries happen and there's a need to look after those who are banged up. That doesn't mean you should sacrifice healthy minutes from what you can get out of your players.
This isn't baseball, where you're constantly monitoring your pitchers who have to throw in an unnatural motion every fifth day. Nor is it football, which forces its players into violent collisions and is under increasing scrutiny for head injuries. Basketball allows you to move your body normally most of the time and requires minimal physical protection. Fatigue plays a part, but again, if no one on the Bulls has had anything to say about Thibodeau's playing time philosophy, why are some of the fans and media? They're in a better position without Rose than previously anticipated and another All-Star has bloomed in the form of Joakim Noah (who is having foot problems, but that's for another post). I guess it's just in our nature to be skeptical. The older we get, the more experience we have in watching sports and thus, compare now to past successes.
We'll try to forget this supposed issue when the Bulls face the Nuggets in Denver tonight. There are only two games left on this road trip and they occur on back-to-back nights. The Bulls have split the first four of their Disney on Ice trip. Find some mojo tonight and then keep it tomorrow against Utah.
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