Boston Celtics
“To have Thibs here at our practice and explaining some of things that he saw that helped them beat us only helps me get better, only helps us get better.”
The Celtics had an interesting visitor on site for Monday’s practice at the Auerbach Center: former Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau.
Thibodeau — who was fired by the Knicks this summer despite ending Boston’s championship-repeating efforts in the Eastern Conference Semifinals — has visited several NBA training camps this fall as he assesses his options moving forward.
But Thibodeau did more than just serve as a bystander as Joe Mazzulla ran practice on Monday. Speaking after practice wrapped, Jaylen Brown said that Thibodeau also spoke with the team about last season’s playoff series about how New York was able to topple Boston.
“I think that was awesome having Thibs. Obviously, they eliminated us last year, so him being able to give us some of the thoughts that he saw in that series and some of the stuff that they broke down in our personnel — or even our team, helps us grow and learn from that,” Brown said.
While Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury held plenty of sway over Boston’s season-ending series against the Knicks, the Celtics also coughed up sizable leads in both Games 1 and 2 against New York that put them into an insurmountable hole.
Thibodeau, who also served as an assistant coach on Doc Rivers’ staff with Boston from 2007-10, broke down film from the Knicks’ series against Boston as part of his visit.
“He was breaking down some film and stuff like that, talking to Joe,” Brown said. “From a team perspective and from a top-down perspective, what he wanted to do with me and Jayson, what he wanted to do when the ball was in my hands. It allows you to grow if you’re humble enough to listen. It will allow you to grow.”
Thibodeau is not the only former coach to make an appearance at Celtics practices this fall, as Ex-Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins visited the the Celtics at the start of camp.
“He’s been one of the best coaches around for a long time,” Mazzulla said of Thibodeau. “Worked here, won a championship here, and just having him around makes me better, makes our organization better. Just a lot of respect for him.”
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