Without Derrick Rose the past two seasons, there was an apparent ceiling on the Bulls’ potential, dictating how good they could be. Chicago never lost its defensive moxie thanks to Joakim Noah and it did reach the postseason both years – that, despite trading Luol Deng less than halfway into last season. Despite the never-ending effort, it just couldn’t compete on the offensive end of the floor. This year should be different with Rose back. Center Pau Gasol is a proven force in the paint, and Chicago has added shooting depth. The window, whether the Bulls want to admit it or not (they don't), is now. In terms of expectations, Tom Thibodeau insists that there’s nothing different about this year. He says there's no added pressure despite Cleveland's offseason bounty, the subsequent fallout in Miami from LeBron James' return home, the Bulls' offseason acquisitions and Rose's promising health. “I expect every season to be good, and how good [the current one will be], you know, we'll see,” Thibodeau said at Friday’s practice ahead of Saturday’s preseason game against Milwaukee. “The thing is, you put everything you have into each and every day. I don’t look at it the way you guys do. This team on paper, that team on paper, expectations here. That’s not the way to approach it. The way to approach it is to understand what goes into winning and do those things each and every day. Don’t take any shortcuts. Don’t skip steps, and prepare. When you get a team that makes that commitment, then you have something special.” Thibodeau, ever the practice coach, can’t and won’t say what his team might do this season. He’s hates the macro, big-picture stuff because it distracts from the work he insists his team must do. “We’ll see,” is the common refrain heard around the team’s practice facility nearly every day since the team began practicing a week and a half ago. Since then, the Bulls have dropped their first two preseason games – uncharacteristic after going undefeated last preseason – and will head to Milwaukee Friday afternoon on the hunt for their first win. - See more at: http://www.csnchicago.com/bulls/despite-possibilites-bulls-thibodeau-feels-no-added-pressure
Yeah, after getting halfway done through the article I was thinking to myself "Man, this is vintage Thibs." You gotta hand it to the guy, he's nothing if not consistent.
He's had to deal with some adversity as a coach throughout the years, here and with Boston. With the injuries his teams have had, he must be overjoyed about the circumstances this year.
