2010 NBA Playoffs: Thibodeau's Future Depends on a Game Six Win for Celtics

Tom Thibodeau is known for having a brilliant defensive mind and the Boston Celtics have rested their hats on his schemes.

The first three games of the Eastern Conference Finals saw the Celtics looking like defensive juggernauts. Their help and recovery were so amazing that the Orlando Magic's perimeter shooters could not get a shot off.

Game four saw Stan Van Gundy make his adjustments and Orlando's three point-shooters getting wide open shots.  

Orlando started to hit hard and a normally steely-minded Celtics were literally reeling from the blow by Game five. 

First there was a Dwight Howard take down of Paul Pierce by his problematic shoulder.

Then there was the inadvertent elbow by Howard to Glen Davis' head, leaving him wobbling like a weeble, and eventually causing him to fall down. 

Notice a theme here?

Soft is too nice a word for the mental attitude the Celtics brought to Game Five. The stench that has permeated their supposed defensive intensity has been quite pungent.

This sudden ineptitude reminds me of the one regular season game Doc Rivers got thrown out of.

Thibodeau got bumped up a chair and promptly froze in his moment of success. His inability to utilize his bench caused the Celtics a home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Now his name is being bandied about for a few of the coaching vacancies in the NBA. His coaching future may depend on how his defense rotations fair against Orlando's shooters.

It may be as simple as the players regaining their focus, but whatever it is, the Celtics have to win Game Six.

The Celtics believe that they never got the chance to defend their title at full strength.  Some of the characters on this roster may be different, but the core of the 2008 championship run remains.

Lest we forget that was the first time the ‘Big Three’ had been put together and we all know what happened last year.

This is important to remember because in some ways they are still figuring it out. 

The combination of those things may be the reason for their defensive lapses. But isn’t this when the Celtics defensive guru should shine?