Thibodeau showed what makes a truly great coach last night in the 96-86 overtime win against the Miami heat. With 49.3 seconds left in regulation and the Bulls down by two, he made the critical decision to bench his star point guard.
Thibodeau’s personnel management late in the game was beyond belief; the work of a master. In all, 17 substitutions were made in the final 1:20 for the Bulls, each one catering to the specific needs of the next several seconds.
It must be noted that the Bulls bench stepped up big and earned the time they received. While Rose went -27 on the court and +37 off, CJ Watson, Taj Gibson, Omer Asik, and Kyle Korver averaged +28.5 on the court while averaging 11 points each.
However, the depth of a team has little impact on a game if the coach doesn’t know when to make a change, and when to leave a player in. In Thibodeau’s case last night, his skillful orchestration of player substitutions earned him not just a 10-point win, but the respect and trust of his players.
-Kyle Owen
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