Friday, Oct. 15, 20101:10 p.m.
By Aggrey SamCSNChicago.com
On a team featuring the aerial exploits of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noahs energetic court presence, its easy for 16-year NBA veteran Kurt Thomas to fly underneath the radar. Thats understandable, since when Thomas first entered the league back in 1995before Rose and Noah were even in high schoolhis steady, underappreciated game has largely remained the same.
Thomas career path intersected with his new head coach, Tom Thibodeau, between the 1998-99 and 2002-03 seasons, when Thomas played for the New York Knicks, for which Thibodeau was an assistant coach under current NBA television analyst Jeff Van Gundy. While Thibodeaus familiarity with him wont earn him any special favors, its obvious that the coach appreciates Thomas abilities.
I think he Kurt brings a lot to the table for us. Veteran experience, been in a lot of playoff games, can play multiple positions (power forward and center), great low-post defender, great team defender and again, he has the ability to pick-and-pop, so if you put him in a pick-and-roll with Derrick Rose, the defense cant put two defenders on Derrick because of that shooting ability. It also forces defensive rotation. When hes on the floor, I think it also puts a lot of pressure on our opponents, Thibodeau said. The fact that I know him, I dont know if that helpsit certainly doesnt hurtbut I base it on how hes practicing, how hes playing in the games, how the teams functioning. Hes here for a lot of different reasons. That veteran leadership is invaluable to us.
How to practice, how to prepare, knowing your opponentthose are all things that hes done for a long timeand again, Kurt has been in a lot of big games. He knows the league and he sets a great example in practice, in everything that he does. You look at all the little thingsfrom setting a screen to blocking out to executing in the halfcourt to talking on defensethose things, theyre great for our big guys. Theyre great for our entire team.
The mentoring role Thomas fillsparticularly with young big men Noah, Taj Gibson and Omer Asikhas already been made evident on the Bulls. Noah and Gibson, both New York City natives, grew up watching Thomas for their hometown Knicks, while Asik, only a rookieironically, Thomas played with Ersan Ilyasova, another product of Turkey and Asiks national-team teammate, with the Milwaukee Bucks last seasonis similarly eager to learn.
I love Kurt, Noah told CSNChicago.com after Tuesdays Bulls win over Toronto. Hes battle-tested, thats for sure. I remember in high school and college, when we would hit a mid-range jump shot, we would call it The Kurt because thats what he does. Every time somebody would hit a jump shot in college, everybody would be screaming Kurt and now were playing together. Hes a funny dude, too, in the locker room and I think he can really add something new to this team as an enforcer and things like that.
When you play with guys who arent very athletic, like Brad Miller or even Kurt, they have to be craftier and theyre very tricky guys. Those are the guys you can really learn from, Noah added after Thursdays practice. They have to be smarter on the court and the older you are, the less energy you like to dispensegood word, right? Expend, better wordthe less energy you want to expend when you get older. So its very interesting to see where they move and things like that. Thats what I can learn from them.
Theres been a lot of different aspects of leadership. He talks to us. I just watch him on the courteven when Im not on the courtI just watch the way he moves, Gibson told CSNChicago.com. Ive learned a lot from him. Hes been in the league for so many years, so its good to have a veteran that you can talk to and is easygoing to talk about basketball with.
As for Thomas himself, hes been enjoying his experience in Chicago thus far and believes that the Bulls have the potentialin timeto reach the expectations that have been set for them, as long as they build a foundation rooted in the core beliefs himself and Thibodeau have learned through their long tenures in the league.
The guys, they really listen to me. They ask a lot of questions and I just try to push the guys in practice and I try to always be positive. In this league, theres going to be some ups and some downs, and its just all about being consistent. I just try to focus in on that with the guys, Thomas told CSNChicago.com. Its just about improving every day. Youre going to have good days, youre going to have bad days. Its all about improving and just trying to grow out there on the floor with each other. Its a lot of new guys, a lot of new faces, so were still trying to learn the offense, were still trying to learn each others tendencies out there on the floor and it just takes time. Weve been playing together basically two weeks now. A lot of people thinks it just happens overnight and it doesnt. It takes time. Weve played four games now, were .500 in the preseason and we just want to improve over these next four preseason games.
Theres a lot of talent in this locker room. These young guys really put in time over the summer to get themselves ready to go into training camp and as long as they can just soak in as much knowledge as possible, I think its definitely help them to make this team much better, like everyone is expecting, he continued. I think my role is pretty much going to be the same as its been the last 12 years of my career. Just come in, be physical, rebound the ball, be solid on the defensive end of the floor and when the opportunity presents itself on the offensive end of the floor, knock down that shot. Thats what Ive been doing for 15 years in this league now.
The Dallas native is easygoing off the court, but has a reputation for being an enforcer if one of his teammates is ever trifled with. One of the few players to achieve the rare feat of leading the nation in scoring and rebounding in the same seasonwhich he did in 1994-95, his senior year at TCUThomas bread and butter in the NBA has long been his deadly accurate mid-range jumper. And when it comes to being savvy on the court, lending a helping hand or stepping up with a big game in the clutch (such as his late-season and playoff performances when needed to replace injured star center Andrew Bogut) for Milwaukee down the stretch last season), Thomas is as dependable as they come.Aggrey
Sam is CSNChicago.coms Bulls Insider. Follow him
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