Tom Thibodeau respected Derrick Rose's ability when Thibodeau was an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics. But now that he gets to watch Rose play every day as coach of the Chicago Bulls, that admiration has gone to a new level -- just like his point guard's game.
"He's having an MVP season, but he's an MVP guy," Thibodeau said Tuesday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "I think his leadership has been tremendous. Not only him but along with Carlos [Boozer] and Joakim [Noah] and Luol [Deng]. Your best players have to help lead your team, and all four of those guys have done that all season."
But there hasn't been much consistency with the health of Boozer and Noah. The duo has missed a combined 27 games. Boozer, signed to a five-year deal over the summer as a free agent, missed the first 15 games after breaking his hand at the start of training camp. Noah has missed the past 12 games after having hand surgery and is expected back in March.
Yet the Bulls have still managed winning records during their stints without Boozer (9-6) and Noah (8-4) and, at 25-12, are third in the Eastern Conference.
Rose, averaging 24.3 points and 8.1 assists, has been the constant, playing all but one game in his third season.
"The things that he is doing out on the court are amazing," Thibodeau said. "I think when you look at his skill set, the way he combines his athleticism, his speed, quickness, strength and now you add to it his shooting. The biggest thing is defensively he's made huge strides all season long. Just the way he's running the team; he's playing a complete game. He's doing so many things that help you win."
Thibodeau credits Rose's desire to improve as key to his development.
"I think it's his drive. He is never satisfied," Thibodeau said. "He's always trying to get better at a number of different things. And he's so humble. It's just the way he's led our team. I think when you look at all those things, he's made everyone better. I think he's reading defenses great, and he's seen a lot of different defenses.
"Teams now are trapping him, they're blitzing his pick and rolls, they're coming early to get the ball out of his hands, and he's making the right reads. He realizes when it's a loose trap and he can split it. He also knows how to make a team pay. He's making skip passes cross court. He's created easy offense for us."
Boozer and Rose have adapted to each other quickly. Boozer, averaging 20.6 points and 10.1 rebounds a game, has given the Bulls the reliable low-post scorer they lacked for years. And his coach marvels at how quickly Boozer has established himself after missing so much time early in his Bulls career.
"He's been tremendous," Thibodeau said. "When you look at the things that he's done offensively -- to miss most of training camp and then the first month of the season -- and to be playing at the level he is playing at so soon, it says a lot about his ability and also his commitment. When he was out he did a ton of conditioning to come back quickly. You put him in a pick and roll with Derrick, it's tough when you have two players with the skill set that those two possess to really defend that."
The Boozer-Thibodeau relationship appeared rocky when the coach benched Boozer for the final 13 minutes, 21 seconds of a 96-94 loss to the New Jersey Nets on Jan. 5.
Thibodeau shot down speculation that he wasn't happy with Boozer's effort on defense.
"The thing about that game, it wasn't a benching of Carlos," Thibodeau said. "We were struggling. We were down 13 going into the fourth quarter. We were low energy the whole game. [The Nets] went small and the group that went out there erased the 13-point lead quickly so our bench gave us great energy. We had some matchup concerns. With Carlos, he's all about winning. Most of the time he's going to be out there for most of the fourth quarter. He knows that."
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