Thibodeau On Defensive 'Trust' Issues: 'Garbage'
By Cody Westerlund-
(CBS) As the Bulls have shown cracks in a defense that's been their calling card for the entirety of the Tom Thibodeau era, forward Taj Gibson and his coach have a differing opinion on why the Chicago defense has had troubles.
After Saturday's 112-102 loss to Golden State, Gibson cited "trust" as an issue for Chicago, in the context of new faces preventing the Bulls from building it yet.
Thibodeau's thoughts on "trust" being a reason for the defensive struggles?
"That's garbage," Thibodeau said before Wednesday night's game against the Nets. "That's garbage. Trust is work. It's work. That's how you build trust. You got to know what you're doing, you got to be tied together. You got to work at it. It's a copout.
"Where you get trust is from the work. The magic is in the work. It's working together, it's timing, it's being tied together. One guy being off is going to hurt you. So you need everyone working together. And it doesn't end. You're not going to have it figured out in three days. You're trying to do something great. Nothing great was ever achieved without great work and great effort. It's really that simple."
Asked if he subscribed to Gibson's new faces theory, Thibodeau was emphatic, responding, "No, no." Thibodeau has often rued the lack of practice time the Bulls regulars have had together, due to injuries and restrictions.
The Bulls are 20th in the NBA in scoring defense, though they're 10th in defensive rating/efficiency.
Gibson's belief was one that fellow big man Joakim Noah has cited as well. Approached about Thibodeau's comments, Gibson didn't back off his belief.
"That's (Thibodeau's) opinion," Gibson said. "That's just me and Jo's opinion. We're on the court.
"It's just new guys, that's all it is. Most of the guys are coming from teams that aren't really defensive-minded teams first. So of course it's going to happen. That's just my opinion. That's what I see on the court. I've been here for awhile. I know what I'm talking about. Joakim knows what he's talking about. He's the Defensive Player of the Year. Of course he's going to know what he's talking about."