The Tom Thibodeau Effect Is In Full Swing
In April of 2016, it was announced that Tom Thibodeau would take over as head coach as well as being the president of basketball operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves. At first glance, Thibodeau’s fit in Minnesota seemed to be perfect considering their roster headlined by promising stars such as Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and Zach LaVine.
Thibodeau has been regarded as one of the top coaches ever since his Chicago days where he led the Bulls to five straight playoff berths and one Eastern Conference Finals appearance. Even before that, he was highly thought of for his defensive schemes during his tenure in Boston as the associate head coach next to Doc Rivers.
No coach is perfect. They all have their flaws in a certain area of the game. For Thibodeau, it has been controlling his star player’s minutes. The 82-game season is a marathon, but Thibodeau seems to treat each game as a must-win scenario.
Overplaying key players was something Thibodeau became known for. Joakim Noah, Loul Deng, Derrick Rose, and even Jimmy Butler can all be used as examples of players who experienced the Thibodeau effect. Deng led the league two consecutive seasons (2011–2013) in minutes per game with 39.4 and 38.7 respectively, while Noah was in the top-25 for the same category for two of Thibodeau’s five seasons.
Noah battled a plethora of injuries, yet he continued to play extensive minutes which ultimately came back to bite them in the playoffs. Butler led the league two-straight seasons (2013–15) as he began blossoming into a premier all-star. Although Butler didn’t sustain any lingering injuries, overuse was certainly in question once the postseason came along.
After taking a season off from coaching, there was hope that during that time he adjusted his flaws and the chance with Minnesota was the perfect opportunity for him to put it on display.
Thus far, that hasn’t been the case. LaVine’s 37.6 minutes per game leads the league while Wiggins’ 36.7 and Towns’ 35.3 ranks fifth and fifteenth respectively.
The Wolves’ trio are all 21 years old, which can bring the argument that their young legs can log the massive minutes. The problem is, the Wolves aren’t winning like they were expected to prior to the season. At 11–23, they currently sit in 13th place in the West. There were plenty who thought Minnesota had the ingredients to make the playoffs. Mind you, last season this team won 29 games.
There’s no doubt this roster has tremendous potential, but the reality is that the players haven’t responded well to Thibodeau’s style. The second half of games has been a colossal mess for this team as we approach the midway point of the season.
Here are a few telling statistics:
Defensive Rating: 110.9 (26th)
OPP 3rd Qtr Points: 27.6 (28th)
OPP 4th Qtr Points: 26.4 (23rd)
Opp 2nd Half Points: 54 (27th)
It isn’t like a Thibodeau-led team to be so bad defensively especially late in games. You could pin this on the fact that the team is so young and defensive schemes in the NBA are so complex it takes time and experience polish to perfection. Little things like backside help off of penetration and closing out on shooters in a timely fashion have been weak spots thus far.
The Wolves are still in the playoff hunt, but their inability to close games in the second half put them behind the eight ball. They’re currently 4.5 games behind the eighth-placed Sacramento Kings (no, that’s not a typo) and could be on the verge of having their playoff hopes become unattainable.
What Thibodeau is doing right now obviously isn’t working for the better. This brings even more questions as to why guys like Shabazz Muhammad (17.7 minutes per game) and Nemanja Bjelica (16.4 minutes per game) are playing so little.
According to Basketball Reference, Muhammad is averaging 15.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per 36 minutes. Bjelica is putting up 13.2 points and 6.9 rebounds in the same time frame.
I’m not saying these two can save the season with more playing time, but why wear down the starters so early into the season when it clearly isn’t working?
Heck, you can even make an argument that Tyus Jones deserves more run.
The starters nice and a big reason why this Wolves team is one of the most exciting teams to watch on a nightly basis. If Thibodeau could adjust his rotation a bit, the young guys may have fresher legs as the game progresses. Again, the one thing that is clear is that what’s going on isn’t working. A lack of veteran presence may be another problem, but the Wolves haven’t been a team that has been reported in many trade talks as of yet.
It’s not time to stick a fork in this team, but staying this course could lead them right down that road.
And quicker than you think.
