Derrick Rose has been close to Tom Thibodeau for much of his NBA career, collaborating on previous stops in Chicago and Minnesota before reuniting with the Knicks again this month.
Rose claims Thibodeau seems to be having more fun in his first season with the improving Knicks than the former league MVP can recall from his previous experience with the reportedly intense hoops coach.
“I mean, in Chicago, it was the first time he had a team. So that was different, ”Rose said Monday. But in Minny you could see he was only catching up with the new league. There are now children in the competition. They are young. They try to invent themselves.
And Thibs has more patience [now] than anything. Just being here, appreciating the situation, appreciating it much more, it is a blessing to be here. But you can tell he’s just a completely different person now. He smiles. I’ve never seen him smile as much as now. So it rubs off on me. I feel his energy. “
The rising Knicks (14-15) will try to complete their first four-game winning streak of the season on Wednesday in Orlando, Florida, where a win would also push their record to 0.500 to 30 games after finishing last season with a 21 -45 mark under David Fizdale and Mike Miller.
Thibodeau laughed on Monday when Rose’s quote about more smiles was passed on to him, but he didn’t deny it either.
“When you get a team that is committed to playing for each other and doing the right things, I want us to enjoy it too,” said Thibodeau. “But the work component is important and sacrifice for each other is important. When those things happen, it’s fun. It’s a great group to be around every day. “
Julius Randle, who made another push for All-Star consideration with 44 points in Monday’s home win over Atlanta, said something similar about Thibodeau in a pre-game appearance on “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN radio.
Randle laughed for a few seconds when asked about Thibodeau, often giving the impression that he is “never happy about anything.”
‘Oh man he’s honest, he’ll probably kill me for saying this, but he’s soft on the inside, man. He’s not as difficult as the persona, ”Randle said. ‘He is definitely an animal. He will coach you hard, he will be hard on you.
But honestly, man, the process, we all enjoy it. We have fun with the process. We enjoy being coached. Obviously when you see the results of things and how things are going and how we get better as a team, you should have fun with the process. And we enjoy it. “
Randle added that Thibodeau’s “attention to detail is unbelievable,” especially on the defensive side of the floor. He also called his coach “a complete culture change, for sure.”
‘All of us, when I talked to the guys and the front office in the summer, that was my thing. I wanted someone to come in and coach us hard, to hold everyone accountable, ”said Randle. “That’s exactly what Thibs has done.”
32-year-old Rose added that returning to New York’s Thibodeau was his priority as he left Detroit, where he started the season. Pistons coach Dwane Casey had said last week that he believed Rose wanted to leave simply because the team was not determined to win.
‘No, it wasn’t. I really just wanted to play Thibs, ”Rose said. “I have had a conversation with [Casey], and he brought up New York. And I was just praying that the deal would actually be closed. “