It’s rare in the NBA for a team to part ways with its head coach right after a deep playoff run — and even rarer for the team that coach just eliminated to sit down with him afterward to study film and talk strategy.
On Monday, just 48 hours before Opening Night, the Celtics found themselves in a position to do exactly that.
Tom Thibodeau, who guided the Knicks to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years, oversaw the franchise clinch a playoff berth four times under his five-year run and led them to consecutive 50-plus win seasons, was dismissed this past offseason. Thibodeau’s Knicks prevented the then-reigning champion Celtics from their chase at a repeat by eliminating Boston in six games, marking one of New York’s biggest postseason upsets in recent memory.
Yet, it wasn’t enough for Thibodeau to retain his position in the Big Apple for another run in the injury-riddled East. So with the Celtics inching closer to their season opener against the 76ers, Thibodeau chose to pay the Celtics an unlikely visit during their practice over at the Auerbach Center.
“I think that was awesome having Thibs,” Jaylen Brown said. “Obviously, they eliminated us last year. So him being able to give us some of the thoughts that he saw in that series, and some of the stuff that they broke down in our personnel or even our team, helps us grow and learn from that. We lost last year. It stung losing to the Knicks. So to have Thibs here at our practice and explaining some of the things that he saw that helped them beat us only helps me get better, only helps us get better. So I value that. Shoutout to Thibs for being here today.”
Thibodeau’s ties to the Celtics organization and Massachusetts as a whole run deep. The two-time recipient of the NBA’s Coach of the Year Award (2011, 2021) spent nearly 20 years serving as an assistant for the Timberwolves, Spurs, 76ers, Knicks, and Rockets in the 1990s before getting a shot to work under Doc Rivers’ Celtics in 2007 as an associate head coach. A former team captain and later coach at Salem State University, Thibodeau assisted Boston en route to its 2008 championship win over Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.
So as much as the trip back to Boston was somewhat of a full-circle welcome back for Thibodeau, those inside the facility didn’t squander the chance to consume as much valuable intel as possible from their ex-rival.
“He was breaking down some film and stuff like that, talking to Joe from a team perspective and from a top-down perspective; what he wanted to do with me and Jayson (Tatum) or what he wanted to do with the ball in my hands,” Brown continued. “It allows you to grow. If you’re humble enough to listen, it’ll allow you to grow. … This was a unique position where a guy could come in — directly after (eliminating you) — and give us some feedback on how we can be better, how I can be better. So I value that. That was great.”
The Celtics blew consecutive 20-point leads against the Knicks, at home, to begin their conference semifinals matchup, giving New York a 2-0 series advantage. That divot proved to be too deep for Boston to dig itself out of, especially after Tatum suffered an unforeseen ruptured right Achilles tendon in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden. Thibodeau countered by throwing a double-big lineup of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson to dominate the rebounding margin while shifting New York’s defensive schemes against Tatum. It worked and exploited Boston’s blemishes throughout the series.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is among the league’s most receptive minds when it comes to taking a student-of-the-game approach to improving and welcoming a broader perspective into the team’s locker room. So even if it means asking Thibodeau where both he and the Celtics fell short last postseason, Mazzulla is all ears if it helps the organization in the long run.
”He’s been one of the best coaches around for a long time,” Mazzulla said. “(He) worked here, won a championship here, and just having him around makes me better, makes our organization better. So it’s a lot of respect for him.”
