Chicago Bulls: Tom Thibodeau — 2013-14 Season Recap

The Chicago Bulls season concluded with another first-round playoff exit, which marks the second time this has happened in the past three years. So far, we have discussed how well the starting lineup performed along with most of the bench unit as well.

This week, we will move up in the team hierarchy and talk about head coach Tom Thibodeau.

Thibodeau and the Bulls were coming off a difficult 2012-13 campaign to say least. As if Derrick Rose sitting out the entire year wasn’t bad enough, both Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich missed the latter part of the first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets and the entire second-round series against the Miami Heat.

With Rose back in the lineup and a complement of healthy players this year, the Bulls were expected to challenge the Heat for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. But as we all know, sometimes things do not always go according to plan.

For starters, Rose suffered another season-ending knee injury against the Portland Trail Blazers in late November.

And to add insult on top of injury (no pun intended), the Bulls traded Deng, their best two-way player, to the Cleveland Cavaliers. But in spite of the bad hand he was dealt for the second straight season, Thibodeau guided his team to 48 wins, which is three more than the win total from last season.

And as a result, Chicago captured home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

So how did Mr. Thibodeau fare in his fourth year as head coach of the Bulls? Let’s take a brief look back at his 2013-14 season, including season highlight/lowlight, memorable moment and my final grade.

Season highlight

One of the signature wins for Thibodeau’s club came Dec. 5 in a home game against the Miami Heat. The Bulls had lost six of their previous seven games and were desperately trying to find a way to get by without Derrick Rose.

Right on cue, Chicago came out with an inspired effort from the start in this contest and led 58-44 at halftime.

Chicago would eventually increase its lead to as many as 25 points in the third quarter before Miami trimmed the deficit to 12 points with under six minutes left to play. But in the end, Chicago made plays down the stretch and came away with a  much-needed 107-87 victory to improve to 8-9 on the season.

The 20-point loss to the Bulls tied a record for the second-largest loss the Heat have had in a game that LeBron James played in.

Season lowlight

One of the most disappointing losses for the Bulls came on April 16 in the season finale against the Charlotte Bobcats. While the 91-86 overtime loss was not way the Bulls wanted to end their season, that was not the main headline from this game.

The most talked about story from this contest was the fact that Thibodeau did not rest his starters, even though the outcome had no bearing on his team’s position in the playoff race. Jimmy Butler played 48 minutes while Joakim Noah played 42.

The extended time for both starters was not what the Bulls needed with the playoffs rapidly approaching and Thibodeau’s short rotation looked exhausted in the brief five-game set against the Washington Wizards in the playoffs.

Memorable quote/moment

In the midst of a second consecutive season without the team’s top scorer on the court in Rose, one of the players who raised his game to new heights was Joakim Noah. Although Thibodeau has a demanding coaching style, under his guidance, Noah had the best season of his professional career with averages that included 12.6 points, 11.3 rebounds along with a team-leading 5.4 assists per contest.

And if those stats were not impressive enough, Noah became the first Bulls player since Michael Jordan to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.  During his speech, the Bulls big man shared a story about an exchange that took place between himself and Thibodeau during the season, per Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago:

"I remember one day we were working out at the Berto Center and Thibs was putting me through a real grueling workout and I told him, You know, Thibs? If we weren’t winning games I would really, really hate you. And he said, Trust me, Jo. I feel the same way about you."

While Noah is deserving of the accolades he received for his performance on the court last season, he recognizes that his success would not be possible without a head coach who constantly demands excellence.

Final Grade: A

Although Thibodeau compiled an impressive 112-36 record during his first two years in Chicago, he had his best season in 2013-14. One of the reasons for this assertion is because he continuously found ways to get the most out of his players regardless of the circumstances.

In addition to Noah having a career season, Taj Gibson became a double-digit scorer, raising his average to 13 points per contest. D.J. Augustin, who the Bulls claimed off waivers from the Toronto Raptors, also thrived under Thibodeau’s watch, as he led the team in scoring with 14.9 points per game.

The point is most teams find a way to adjust when one player goes down with an injury. However, the Bulls were without two of their best players this season, and thanks to Thibodeau, they still managed to make it to the playoffs despite a shaky 12-18 start.

Yes, Thibodeau often drives some of his players crazy. Yes, he has one of the most fiery personalities that you will ever see.

And even more to the point, he is going to take the same approach to each contest whether it is the first game of the season, or the season finale.

But overall, he has earned the respect of every player he has coached during his tenure in the Windy City. And while it is uncertain what the roster will look like next season, what we do know is Thibodeau will continue to demand perfection and he will go to great lengths to maximize the potential of each of his players—both of which are traits that every team should want in a head coach.

James Tillman is a Staff Writer for HoopsHabit.com and a sports contributor for Football Nation and Sports Kings/Pass The Pill. James is also a former Featured Sports Contributor for Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @JTILLMAN9693.