Originally Posted by Flyers98
To be fair, wasn't "the wall" the Bulls hit in the playoffs usually the NBA's all time leading scorer in his prime.
|
Fair point, they did drop 3 series to LeBron led Heat/Cavs teams, lossing 12 games in those 3 series vs 3 4 victores (4-1, 4-1, 4-2).
They also got beat in the first round 4-2 as the 1 seed vs Philly, and again in the 1st round 4-1 as the 4 seed vs Washington as his 5 year run in Chicago ended.
He then proceed to Minnesota and helped them break their long playoff drought by gaining the 8 seed in year 3, and promptly got beat 4-1 by Houston in round 1.
Then of course got beat 4-1 by Atlanta in his lone playoff bid with the Knicks.
There is 0 question that Thibs gets his team to grind it out and fight all season long, but its far more than just losing to LeBron in the playoffs, they have often been noncompetitive despite in relatively, if not favorable matchups. His players for the most part must love playing for him because there have been numerous players that have following him from Chicago to Minnesota and/or the Knicks. But having watched him in Chicago (I'm a Jordan era fan, even if they haven't given me much to root for outside of those early Thib seasons) and now from a far following Obi, the criticism that he wears down his dudes during the regular season is fair. The last game was a perfect example where late in the season he could have rested several of his key players for bigger stretches and worked his bench more. Obi would have been a natural benefactor and is the only reason I even pay attention or care what the Knicks and Thibs do, but its a pattern that has shown his whole career.
