Boston's Tom Thibodeau helps stymie Kobe Bryant, Lakers

Here is a good article on Kobe and Thibs. I didn't know that Tom trained a 14 yr old Kobe, while working for John Lucas. Kobe credits Tom as one of the people that made him a great player.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...bostons_tom_thibodeau_helps_stymie_kobe_.html


BOSTON - The Celtics' secret weapon for stopping Kobe Bryant may just be a middle-aged assistant coach whom Bryant credits for helping to make him the player he is today.

"He's awesome," says Bryant, the league's MVP.

Before this season, Tom Thibodeau was best known for serving as Jeff Van Gundy's top lieutenant with the Knicks and Rockets and as a guy who couldn't land a head coaching interview, much less a top job. But in Thibodeau's first year as Boston's associate head coach under Doc Rivers, his profile has increased as rapidly as the Celtics' win total.

With Kevin Garnett carrying out the game plan, Thibodeau has been credited with turning Boston into the league's top defensive team. That's not surprising considering that during Thibodeau's 18 seasons as an NBA assistant coach, his teams have finished in the top 10 in team defense 15 times.

Boston's ability to contest shots and take top players out of their comfort zone is a main reason why the Celtics are three wins away from a title. In the playoffs, Boston has neutralized Le-Bron James and continued to make life miserable for Bryant. In Game 1, Bryant scored 24 points but made just nine of 26 shots including a 1-for-6 performance in the fourth quarter. In Boston's two regular-season victories over the Lakers, Bryant averaged 25points but shot a combined 15-for-46.

"I've been facing his defenses here for some time and they're tough - very, very tough," Bryant said on the eve of tonight's Game2. "Every single team he's been on has had great strategies and physical defenses."

Bryant's relationship with Thibodeau goes back to the early 1990s, when Bryant was a teenage prodigy and Thibodeau was on John Lucas' staff with the Philadelphia 76ers. During the off-season, Bryant would train with the Sixers and he grew close to Thibodeau, who put in the extra time to work with a high school phenom.

"He has an unfair advantage," Bryant said. "He started drilling me, NBA basketball drills, when I was 14. So he kind of has inside information on what I like to do because he taught me most of the stuff."

A native of New Britain, Conn., Thibodeau has a reputation for being a tireless worker who pores over hours and hours of game film. Although he is regarded as a defensive specialist - a recent headline in The Boston Globe called him a "mastermind" - Thibodeau has a history of improving the offensive games of several prominent players.

With the Knicks, Thibodeau worked with Larry Johnson, Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell. In Houston, Thibodeau formed such a close bond with Yao Ming that the All-Star center brought him to China for workouts over the summer.

Celtics All-Star Paul Pierce calls him the hardest working assistant coach he's ever been around while Kendrick Perkins says that Thibodeau is the "best thing" that's happened to the team. And yet, despite his credentials and wealth of coaching experience, Thibodeau has received only one interview for a head coaching job.

"It's come down to someone willing to take a chance," Van Gundy says. "And when they do it will be a home run."

The Celtics' long playoff run has both helped and hurt Thibodeau's chances of getting a job. Thibodeau's value has never been higher but he's also missed opportunities to interview. The team refused to give him permission to interview during the playoffs which is why Thibodeau never met with Knicks president Donnie Walsh. However, there is talk that Chicago will reach out to him assuming its job is vacant when the NBA Finals are over.

Thibodeau may simply return to Boston, although there are rumblings that not everyone on the coaching staff is pleased that he is receiving so much credit. When asked specifically about Thibodeau's role before Game 1, Rivers praised him for being "great" and called him "our defensive leader."

But Rivers also added, "I try to talk about all my assistants honestly, because they all play a role. That's why they call it a coaching staff. So they all play a big role. He's been great. We had to get the guys to buy into the system, and they have. Obviously, you're as good as your players, and Garnett is obviously the reason."

Under Rivers' policy, assistant coaches are unavailable to the media - which is uncommon in the NBA. Instead, Thibodeau's work speaks for him. Just ask Bryant