Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau reportedly accepts position as Chicago Bulls coach
Celtics assistant coach and defensive guru Tom Thibodeau, long rumored to be a top candidate for a head-coaching position in the NBA, appears to have found a suitor.
Multiple media outlets reported Saturday that Thibodeau accepted a three-year offer to become the head coach of the Chicago Bulls. No formal announcement can be made until the Finals are over, and Celtics Coach Doc Rivers wouldn’t confirm Thibodeau’s departure, but said, “I hope it’s true.”
“He deserves the job,” Rivers said. “I think he’s the best candidate out there. I’ve said that for three years now.”
Rivers said Thibodeau’s departure wouldn’t impact the Celtics or his own thought process over whether he returns to the team for next season.
Celtics forward Glen Davis called Thibodeau, whose teams have finished in the top 10 defensively 15 times, “the mastermind of the Celtics D.”
Said Celtics center Kendrick Perkins: “He’s the first guy in every morning, last guy to leave, knows basketball from top to bottom. He’s been a pleasure to work with.
“He’ll be missed a lot, but we’ve just got to move on,” Perkins added. “It’s a business. We’re just happy for the years that we had him and we’ll try to take advantage of him now.”
Lakers Coach Phil Jackson coached the Bulls for nine years and had some advice to Thibodeau, who is taking his first NBA head coaching job after serving as an assistant for seven teams over 18 seasons.
“Chicago is a rabid sports town, that’s for sure,” Jackson said, “and you have to produce if you’re in Chicago, otherwise, like some of those other cities that expect winners, things happen.”
No more R&B for Perkins
Perkins’s usual pregame routine includes a selection of Southern hip hop — UGK and T.I., for example — to get his blood flowing. But he deviated from that plan before Game 1, listening instead to R&B “because I was trying to woosah a little bit to settle down because I was too pumped up.”
It didn’t work. Perkins had eight points, three rebounds and no blocks. Did it mess with him?
“It probably did,” he said. “I don’t know. I’m superstitious, so I have to go back to what I was doing.”
Garnett ready to go
Kevin Garnett wasn’t miffed by over-hyped and misconstrued remarks made by Lakers center Pau Gasol about Garnett’s effectiveness. Rivers said, though: “[Kevin’s] as healthy as he’s been all year. And I think he plans on trying to prove that to a lot of people [Sunday].”
Injury updates
Rajon Rondo has felt muscle tightness in his rear throughout the playoffs and has tried stretching during games to loosen his muscles. He said Saturday that he’s fine, but that he “won’t know until contact, really.”…Marquis Daniels (concussion) went through a live practice Saturday and could be ready to play Sunday. “I thought he was out for the playoffs, personally, so that’s a good thing,” Rivers said. “I can’t guarantee [Sunday], but I think there’s a good chance.”
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