Tom Thibodeau: The Chicago Bulls' 'Second Star' Is Their Head Coach

The Chicago Bulls heartbreaking loss to the Miami Heat had people talking about how the Bulls needed a "second star" to compliment Derrick Rose. The reality is they already had one, but he was on the bench, not on the court. 

Long hailed as one of the best, if not the best, defensive minds in the game, Thibodeau's offensive mind has been underrated. It's there that the Bulls are finding their "second star" which is making the Chicago Bulls not only the elite defensive team in the league, but one of the best offensive teams as well. 

If you're being objective, the fact is that right now the Chicago Bulls are playing better basketball than anyone in the NBA. The fact that's come with the Bulls playing the most road games of any team in the league, and their starting backcourt being together only four games this year, is remarkable. 

The starting five they have is good. They are, at least statistically speaking, the most productive starting five in the NBA.  That's not an opinion. When Derrick Rose, Richard Hamilton, Luol Deng,  Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah are on the court together, they score 115.76 points per 100 possessions. 

Based on data from basketballvalue.com, no starting five has a higher offensive rating. 

In fact, the only quintuplet which has started at least two games and has a better rating is when the Bulls have started CJ Watson instead of Derrick Rose. They have an offensive rating of 127.06. 

Now, I anticipate the arguments about "statistics don't mean everything" because that's the favorite argument of everyone who wants to avoid what they say. I also want to "point" out that I'm not trying to argue that they mean "everything." I'm merely postulating they mean "something."

What they don't mean, and I wouldn't argue, is that the Bulls are the best offensive team in the league. What they do mean is that they are a greatly improved team, and arguably top five. 

Currently, they are sixth in John Hollinger's offensive efficiency. They are sixth in basketball-reference's offensive rating, a tenth of a point per 100 possessions behind the Philadelphia 76ers. In TeamRankings, they are tied with San Antonio for sixth.

There are certainly grounds for them being in the conversation for being in the top five, particularly when you factor in the backcourt shuffle the Bulls have been going through this year. 

When I mention the backcourt issues, it's significant they are so successful in spite of it but don't let that distract from how good they would be, and will be, once it's intact. 

Hamilton might not be the "2006 version" as so many readers have pointed out to me, but the 2012 version is doing just fine. After all, it's not just the production he provides by itself that makes such a significant difference. 

Ironically, his value can be compared to that of replacing a stuck piston. Just as with a car engine, if the piston or piston rings get stuck, the cylinder misfires and the efficiency of the engine is compromised. 

Keith Bogans was something of a stuck piston, and the stuck part is almost literal. Bogans simply stood around, occasionally taking a shot or tapping back passes form Rose. He didn't "pump" the way a piston should though. As a result no "force" was derived from his being on the court.

Hamilton moves constantly. Imagine him more of a smoothly, constantly, rotating crankshaft. 

When you're driving your car at any particular point, you aren't assigning your forward motion to any one cylinder. It hardly matters which fires where to provide the thrust you need, it just matters that everything is working. 

When Hamilton is in the offense the Bulls are firing on all cylinders. It's hard to find a more perfectly fitting metaphor. His actual movement brings everything together for the Bulls, and that's something that passes the eye test as well as the objective statistical test too. 

When Hamilton is in the lineup, the Bulls average about five more assists and score about 10 more points per 48 minutes. Note how neatly those two numbers fit together, suggesting that all 10 of those points come on assisted field goals.

Their assist ratio with Hamilton on the court is a ridiculous 19.7 based on the Stat Cube.

Right now, the Nuggets led the NBA with a ratio of 18.3. 

With Hamilton on the court, the Bulls become an incredibly efficient offense. The ball movement is constant, and invariably finds its way in the net. 

Don't get me wrong though. The reason that everything works isn't Hamilton. You don't give the credit for the efficiency of the engine to the piston, you give it to the engineer. In the same way, the real credit for this offense belongs to Tom Thibodeau. 

The real beauty of this offense is its effectiveness in the half court with 82 percent of their field goals coming on set plays. That's not to say they can't score in transition either. They are second in the NBA in fast break efficiency. 

Furthermore, the 5.1 percent drop in Derrick Rose's usage rate suggests the reliance on Rose is not nearly as great as next year. 

Absent a second superstar, Tom Thibodeau has engineered an offense that doesn't need one. He has engineered an offense which features everyone. In that regard, Thibs fills the role of that "second star" which the Bulls need. 

No longer will those trap plays that concentrate on Rose and dare the rest of the team to beat opponents be effective. Chicago's offense isn't built on a single player. It's built on the premise that ball movement and player movement creates opportunities for everyone. 

It's working, even while Derrick Rose is sitting. It's hard to imagine what will happen when he gets back.