Tom Thibodeau takes hilarious shot at Celtics legend
Tom Thibodeau has a lot of good relationships with members of the Boston Celtics organization from the time he spent with the franchise, and the New York Knicks head coach gave fans a great reminder of that on Monday.
Just before tip-off of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Knicks and Celtics, Thibodeau was asked by a reporter to reflect on the three seasons he spent as an associate head coach under Doc Rivers in Boston. He had nothing but positive things to say about the Celtics before taking a friendly swipe at Brian Scalabrine.
"From top to bottom, the history of the franchise, the people that are involved from ownership to management to all the players, it's a special place. ... The first time you walk into the practice facility and you're looking up at all the banners from each decade, it's very unique, it's special.
"Of course, during that time (owners Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca), Danny Ainge, Doc (Rivers), great players, staff, the people that work in the building, (PR head) Jeff Twiss, everybody from top to bottom. The only hole in the franchise is Scalabrine."
The room erupted with laughter, and you could tell by the look on Thibodeau's face that he was quite proud of himself.
Scalabrine played for the Celtics from 2005-2010. He then followed Thibodeau to Chicago when Thibodeau became the head coach of the Bulls, so the two have a very close relationship.
Scalabrine now works as a color analyst for NBC Sports Boston, which is the Celtics' television partner. He is known for being a big homer, so he and Thibodeau are once again on opposite sides in the Eastern Conference semifinals. It seems like Thibodeau is going to enjoy that.
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