Chicago Bulls: Is Tom Thibodeau the NBA Version of Bill Belichick?

On Sunday, Celtics coach Doc Rivers likened Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau to NFL genius Bill Belichick. 

That's quite a comparison and undoubtedly a compliment.

Belichick has governed the New England Patriots to five Super Bowl appearances and three Super Bowl victories in his 12-year tenure.  He's known as a football mastermind who's always thinking and scheming, even in the wee hours of the morning. 

Belichick simply eats, sleeps and breathes football.

Similarly, Thibodeau eats, sleeps and breathes basketball.  But this is only his second year as an NBA head coach.  Is it premature to label him as basketball's version of Belichick?

No, it isn't premature. 

While Thibodeau has yet to win a championship as a head coach, he's already uncovered the depths of his basketball prudence.

Last season, he took over a Chicago squad that had won 41 games the previous season and lost in the first round of the playoffs.  

With their only key roster upgrade being oft-injured forward Carlos Boozer, they stampeded through the regular season, winning a league-best 62 games.  They then won two playoff series before getting ousted by the star-studded Miami Heat.

Despite the playoff loss, a statement had been made: Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls are for real and this coach named Thibodeau knows what he's doing.

And the statement was loud enough for Coach "Thibs" to receive recognition, as he garnered the 2010-2011 NBA Coach of the Year award.    

Thibodeau is supremely praised for his defensive ingenuity.  Two years ago, the Bulls were a ho-hum defensive unit.  Now, they're as smothering as the frigid Chicago wind coming off Lake Michigan.

This defensive transformation has been at the core of the Bulls' vault to the league's upper echelon.  Don't get me wrong, Derrick Rose has been phenomenal, but their defensive tenacity debilitates opponents and is the chief reason for their success.

On some evenings, Rose will have an off-night as well as Luol Deng and Boozer, but the Bulls find a way to win because of their defensive prowess.  This type of success is only generated through a coach who empowers players to buy into an efficient system on a game-by-game basis.  

Recently, there has been some angst in regards to Thibodeau riding his starters too long.  Some are even blaming him for Rose's recent back pains. 

Perhaps there is some wisdom in resting Rose, Deng, and the other starters during fourth quarters when the Bulls are up 20, but if we've learned anything from Thibodeau in his two-year reign, it's that he doesn't deserve to be questioned. 

He may demand a lot from his players, but isn't his intensity a taste of refreshment in an era when coaches too often cater to their players' needs, "babying" them like middle-schoolers in giant bodies?

The truth about Thibodeau is this: he's going to maximize the potential of the squad he possesses, much akin to the ways Belichick raises the ceiling of the New England Patriots. 

As long as "Thibs" is at the helm of the Chicago Bulls, the possibility of winning a championship is present. 

And don't be surprised if that possibility becomes a reality sooner rather than later.