"That way to Chicago?"

Tom Thibodeau turned down an offer to be head coach of the New Orleans Hornets, and the Hornets quickly signed backup plan Monty Williams.

Meanwhile, Thibodeau set his sights on the one team he’s wanted to coach all along: The Chicago Bulls. It looks like Thibodeau will get his way. If a Chicago Tribune report is to be trusted, Thibs will soon be the Bulls’ head coach.

Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf spent part of Friday at the Berto Center, where sources said positive discussions about Tom Thibodeau continued with executive vice president John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman and that a formal offer is expected shortly.

The Celtics’ associate head coach quickly emerged as the front-runner to succeed Vinny Del Negro as Bulls coach after Paxson and Forman flew to Los Angeles for a Wednesday night interview on the eve of the NBA Finals.

Two sources familiar with the Bulls’ thinking continued to paint the situation as Thibodeau’s job to lose and that an offer is expected to come this weekend.

Now that all this head coaching interview stuff is almost over with, can Thibodeau please get back to doing what he does best — preparing the Celtics to play lockdown defense against any opponent? After the Game 1 debacle, the Celtics could use a fully-focused Thibodeau concentrated on nothing but shackling Kobe Bryant.

Who has the better thinking pose?

Tom Thibodeau has turned down the New Orleans Hornets’ offer and will almost certainly become the next head coach of the Chicago Bulls, The New York Daily Post has reported.

The Post has learned Thibodeau yesterday rejected a Hornets offer that has been on the table for almost a week.

Sources also said Thibodeau, credited as Boston’s defensive mastermind, is almost guaranteed to wind up with the Bulls, whom he met with two summers ago but lost out to Vinny Del Negro.

Chicago is a perfect place for Thibodeau — the Bulls have rising stars Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah and also a whole bunch of cap room. Chicago has reportedly been Thibodeau’s number one choice all along. Let’s hope this report is spot on.

On another, completely related note, John Paxson should think twice before shoving Thibs: Dude is feisty.

(h/t CSNNE)

"Don't worry, Doc. I might be back next year, after all."

The New Orleans Hornets are prepared to offer their head coaching position to someone else if Tom Thibodeau doesn’t accept the position by Thursday, reports ESPN’s Mark Stein.

The New Orleans Hornets, who offered their vacant coaching job to Boston Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau last week, might hire someone else if Thibodeau has not accepted the job before Game 1 of the NBA Finals, according to sources close to the situation.

The Hornets don’t want to let their coaching search drag beyond this week and plan to offer the job instead to Portland Trail Blazers assistant Monty Williams if Thibodeau, Boston’s defensive specialist, doesn’t accept by Thursday, according to sources.

If Thibodeau decides to keep New Orleans waiting and roll the dice that New Jersey or Chicago will offer him a contract, he risks losing the only sure thing he has.

Could we possibly go another season without Tom Thibodeau getting a head coaching job? It would seem almost unfathomable, but it might happen.

In a possible prelude to becoming head coach of the New Orleans Hornets, Tom Thibodeau has hired an agent. (CBS Sports)

While Tom Thibodeau remains the front-runner for the Hornets’ head coaching position, the extension of the Celtics-Magic series has complicated efforts by both parties to close the deal.

Thibodeau, architect of the Boston defense that ousted LeBron James from the playoffs, is entrenched in a suddenly difficult Eastern Conference finals with Orlando as the Celtics’ 3-0 lead has dwindled to 3-2 heading into Game 6 Friday night in Boston. In preparation for a contract negotiation with New Orleans, Thibodeau hired leading sports representation firm Creative Artists Agency on Thursday, according to a person with knowledge of the decision. CAA has an expanding coaching business in addition to its dealings with top free agents James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.[...]

The Bulls and Nets also are interested in Thibodeau, though in Chicago’s case, his hiring of an agent could complicate matters since the Bulls are one of the only teams in the NBA that do not negotiate with coaching agents.

I’m so torn about Thibodeau leaving. He seems to be a huge part of what the Celtics have accomplished the past three seasons, but he deserves a head coaching job somewhere.

It looks like he’ll finally get his shot.

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

Anderson Varejao, goofy as usual. Sheed, sleeping during games as usual. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “In fact, Kevin Garnett went so far as to suggest the team was more confident following the game. ‘We felt like we had this game,’ said Garnett. ‘We have a lot of confidence now. When you’re at home, you play your hardest; you play your best basketball. We all know they’re a good team at home. We’ll go back to the drawing board, watch the film, and try to get Game 2. We come in here with confidence, we’re not lacking that. We just have to be more consistent coming down the stretch.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘I just thought we went away from our game plan,’’ said Rivers. “We didn’t sustain 48 minutes of focus. Give them credit, they turned the heat up and we didn’t handle it very well.’ The Cavaliers outscored the Celtics, 22-15, in the fourth, making another Boston lead disappear as they had three times during the regular season. ‘It’s over with now,’ Rajon Rondo said. ‘We definitely lost an opportunity to sneak a game . . . But it’s over with and we have to move on.’”

Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe – “‘We were winning because we were attacking,’ said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. ‘In the second half we went away from what we were supposed to do. I was really upset with our guys and the execution. In the second half, I thought we settled. We’re playing a good team. We knew they had a run in them. It happens. This is not going to be easy for either team.’ The Celtics have made it particularly tough on themselves because they must win a road game to advance and last night was a golden opportunity. It was a game they should have won.”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “Rajon Rondo has an interesting perspective on the man who’s guarding him: He doesn’t see him. ‘I look at the second defender,’ he said. ‘I don’t really look at my man really.’ During the first half, his man didn’t see him either. Rondo turned Williams inside out and put him through the spin cycle with a variety of finishing plays, one more spectacular than the next. When he didn’t finish at the rim, he finished at the free throw line where the notoriously suspect free throw shooter made 12-of-14 shots. ‘Shorty was aggressive,’ Garnett said. ‘Not only aggressive, but he was finding guys. He controlled the huddles, which is rare for him. You love to see it. He’s very, very locked it. That’s what we’re going to need. We need everybody’s contributions to defeat this team.’”

Duane Rankin, Boston Globe – “When Cleveland coach Mike Brown was asked if he thought Williams could dunk, he must have laughed for 10 to 15 seconds before answering. ‘That surprised me,’ said Brown. ‘Yeah. Mo jumped and the ball went [in] and I didn’t even know what happened, you know. I just kind of figured he had to dunk . . . but that was a heck of a play by Mo. Heck of a play, boy.’ Williams did more than dunk, though. He had 10 straight points to trim Boston’s 11-point lead to 5, 73-68, with 3:12 remaining in the third. The Cavaliers ended the quarter on an 11-5 run to take a 79-78 lead heading into the fourth quarter. ‘When he picked it up, it kind of gave the whole team a lift with that dunk,’ Cleveland second-year forward J.J. Hickson said.”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “The end was a series of errors during which time the Celtics were tentative and unsure of themselves. Varejao ripped a rebound out of Rasheed Wallace’s hands. A sprawled James reached up from the floor and took the ball from Paul Pierce. Then Shaq applied the coup de grace with a third-chance tip-in between Garnett and Kendrick Perkins for a 98-93 lead with a minute left. ‘I think we stopped being aggressive and they turned it up,’ Rondo said after 27 points and 12 assists. ‘It was tough. You know, we’ve been there before. We were up at halftime again. We lost a double digit lead – again. And we didn’t get the win.’ Again. ‘Yeah, it was,’ said Perkins of the regular season reprise. ‘The last three minutes of the third quarter we started going downhill. We didn’t take their punch very well. They punched us and we just kind of . . . I think we gave in just a little bit.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “But, truth be told, the Celtics weren’t that upset after Saturday’s game and likely bit their tongues enough to avoid any $35,000 requests from the NBA offices. Even the Celtics admitted the referees didn’t decide the outcome of the game. But they certainly didn’t make things any easier on Boston. ‘It had an impact, but not that big,’ said Rivers. ‘It was with us. Maybe mentally, guys were worried about fouls. I told them at halftime, I don’t care if everybody fouls out by the third quarter — don’t change. We were winning because we were attacking. [The Cavaliers] won the game because they attacked in the second half. You can’t worry. We had enough guys. I told the bigs that. I told [Davis], ‘I don’t care if you foul out in the first half. You have to be energy guy. I’m using Baby as an example, but he went away from being an energy guy because he was concerned about his fouls. I thought, overall, in the second half, we just went away from what we’re supposed to be.’ Echoed Rondo, Boston’s offensive spark plug all night: ‘We stopped being aggressive. Not just offensively, but defensively as well. We stopped our pressure, they started attacking us, and we fell back on our heels.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “Of the 17 Cleveland fouls, nine were on Shaquille O’Neal and Antawn Jamison, meaning the other eight players amassed a total of eight fouls in 183:17 of action. That allowed for more aggression, more ability to use hands and arms when chasing rebounds or contesting shots. The Cavaliers didn’t win because of the officiating; they won because they were allowed to be the more physical team in the second half. And the Celtics, who spent too much of the regular season barking at officials, were at it again, but with good reason this time. ‘You are on the road man, you are on the road,’ forward Kevin Garnett said. ‘I have never been in the series where you have been on the road and the refs have given the road team anything. You gotta play through it. It’s not the time to be [expletive] and complaining to the refs. If they are going to let you play, you gotta play. You say your two cents and your peace and you gotta keep it moving.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “Rondo, who had 27 points and 12 assists – 19 and 8 came in the first half – was dominating action in the first half because he was getting out and running, which often created scoring opportunities for himself or whoever was on the floor running along with him. But that all changed in the second half. Of course Rondo’s foul trouble had something to do with that. But even when he was in the game and looking to run, often he had no one to pass to because no one was really running with him. After the game, Celtics coach Doc Rivers was quick to praise Cleveland for their play defensively. But even he acknowledged that Rondo’s teammates were conspirators in his struggles as well. ‘We walked the ball up a ton (in the second half),’ Rivers said. ‘We stopped spacing the floor and we stopped sprinting up the floor. A lot of it wasn’t Rondo’s fault. I thought Rondo kept pushing the ball up the floor, but there were three guys behind him.’”

Chris Sheridan, ESPN – “It was an odd game for James. Not odd in that he wasn’t productive — he posted 35 points, seven assists, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks — but odd in that, until late in the game, he eschewed the jump shot. Playing with a strained and bruised right elbow, he drove to the hoop or posted up almost exclusively in the first three quarters, through which he took only three jump shots. James admitted he wasn’t playing his normal game until Williams cornered him in the third, effectively saying ‘Be yourself.’ ‘I stayed close to the rim,’ said James, who made 12 of 24 shots. ‘I tried not to hyperextend it any worse than it was. Did I come out a little tentative? I thought about [my elbow] a little bit too much. Mo could see me thinking about it. It’s kind of the first real injury I’ve had to play with, especially with it being on my shooting hand. I came out tentative, but if I’m on the court, then I have to be productive.’”

Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports – “When had a Cavalier ever had to snap James out of something – never mind in the playoffs? Truth be told, no one had heard him talk this way, because nothing has ever bothered him. James had come out like the boxer protecting his ribs, measured and cautious and babying that right elbow. He feared hyperextending it, so he stayed with his dribble and drove to the rim. Whenever possible, he used his left hand – even when it was awkward and going back across his body. He still scored on the move, still made it to the free-throw line, still played productively. With one hand behind his back, James still can be a force. With two, he’s untouchable. Perhaps James wasn’t himself until the fourth quarter, when he would score 12 of his 35 points, block two shots and hit two crushing 3-pointers. Eventually, resistance was futile for the Celtics. They used to have a defense that could clog him, contain him, but those days are long gone. James fears his elbow will still be an issue, that it has lingered too long to just go away. He refused to take a cortisone shot for the pain Saturday night, insisting, ‘I don’t like needles.’ Two armfuls of tattoos offer evidence to the contrary, but whatever: The King is the King here, and his proclamations seldom are met with skepticism. As much as James seems oddly willing to discuss the elbow – an open invitation for Celtics bullies like Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davisto pound away at it – coach Mike Brown shrugs and plays the innocent. ‘I didn’t think he was favoring the elbow. There was not one thing said to me by him, by our trainers. …’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “General manager Danny Ainge confirmed yesterday that the Celtics associate coach, considered one of the NBA’s premier defensive strategists, has drawn feelers from the Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans Hornets regarding their head coaching vacancies. Both the Clippers and Hornets have asked Ainge for permission to interview Thibodeau, though no meetings have been scheduled.The Philadelphia Daily News also reported that Thibodeau, who interviewed last year for positions with the Sixers and Sacramento Kings, is once again on Philadelphia’s list.”

Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.

I have a pit in my stomach.

Boston was up 12 points at halftime, and lost by 8 points, 93-85. In the third quarter, they were outscored 29-12. Paul Pierce had 8 turnovers, and Kevin Garnett had zero second half points.

The knife in my heart? Chris Paul didn’t even play. The All-Star Game couldn’t come any sooner for a team that is 9-13 in their last 22 games.

The statistics and the storyline are familiar. Boston turned the ball over 23 times; Boston was out-rebounded 47-37; Boston forgot to wake up from a halftime team nap in time for the third quarter.

“Our defense was horrible in the third quarter,” Doc was Rivers was quoted as saying by the NBA.com Celtics Twitter account.

In our Celtics game preview, Jay predicted a lopsided point guard matchup with Hornets star Chris Paul out with a knee injury. He was right, but the matchup favored rookie Darren Collison. After a rough start that led to 10 turnovers, Collison rebounded for 25 points- 13 of them coming in the fourth-quarter- and nine assists. Rajon Rondo recorded 7 points and 4 assists.

Morris Petersen also played a crucial role in the Hornets win, recording a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Peja Stojakovic added four 3-pointers on his way to 20 points, and David West was good for 15 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists.

The lone bright spot in such a dark game for the Boston Celtics was their bench, which contributed 40 points and 14 rebounds. Marquis Daniels (14 points), Glen Davis (9 pts, 4 rebs), and Rasheed Wallace (13 pts, 5 rebs) were especially effective.