CHICAGO -- Of all the ways for the hit drama series "Maddest Man" to end, no one predicted death by Dellavedova.
A dispiriting 94-73 home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Thursday night's elimination game? That's a twist I didn't see coming.
Matthew Dellavedova, of all people, led the Cavs with 19 points to end the Chicago Bulls' season and possibly Tom Thibodeau's coaching tenure in Chicago.
The Bulls scored 31 points in the first quarter but completely fell apart after that. They scored 13 in the second quarter and only 29 points in the second half, as Cleveland won three consecutive games to end the Eastern Conference semifinal series in six.
If you didn't know better, you'd think the Bulls quit on Thibodeau. Given that I don't think they play hard -- or soft -- because of a coach, let's just say they ran out of gas.
By the time the game ended, the United Center was half-empty, and boos filled the air. It was an embarrassing finale to an ultimately disappointing season.
If a LeBron James-led team was ever vulnerable, this was it. For the series, James shot 40 percent and went 3-for-28 on 3-pointers. Kevin Love missed the series after undergoing shoulder surgery. Kyrie Irving was banged up with leg injuries, and he played only 35 seconds after the first quarter Thursday.
But the Bulls, deeper on paper than in reality, still couldn't beat James, who has knocked them out of four of their past six postseasons. This time, the Bulls, who went 30-for-80 from the field Thursday, didn't scrap their way to the bitter end. Cleveland outrebounded Chicago in each of its wins, and on Thursday, it was a bloodbath, at 53-32.
After an up-and-down season that finished on a decidedly down note, there's no sense harping on this game. It's over. The season is done.
The one unanswerable -- and, to one Bulls veteran, unfair -- question we had postgame had to do with the future: Thibodeau's future in Chicago.
Does Thibodeau, with two years left on his contract, expect to be back for a sixth season?
"Yeah, I mean, until they tell me I'm not, I expect to be here," he said. "So that's the way I'm approaching it."
The 57-year-old Thibodeau has a .647 win percentage in the regular season (255-139), and that's with Derrick Rose playing only 181 of 394 games. Pretty good, right? But this season was a grind from beginning to end, and the Bulls never really jelled.
Thibodeau is expected to be pursued by several teams with job openings -- the New Orleans Pelicans and Orlando Magic, so far -- and probably even more without current vacancies.
The rumblings about his fractious relationship with management (Bulls vice president John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman) have gone on for years, and they grew louder this season, as Thibodeau complained about minutes restrictions and management stewed as Thibs' friend Jeff Van Gundy torched them from his analyst's perch on two nationally televised ESPN games.
What's the problem? Basically, it's about mutually perceived disrespect, who gets the credit when things go well and who gets the blame when things go badly. It's about backbiting and gossip and personality clashes.
Dissension and disagreement are normal in NBA relationships. This one could continue if both parties want it to, but all things end sometime.
"I think Thibs is a hard worker and somebody who's always had us prepared," Bulls center Joakim Noah said. "Now we just don't know the situation [with] anybody. We lost in the second round, but [there's been] a lot of great memories, and that's all I can say."
The sad thing is the two sides work pretty well together at building teams and improving players.
Who would replace Thibodeau? Iowa State coach and former Bull Fred Hoiberg has been the hot name. After that, who knows?
"All I basically know is Thibs, his philosophy, his style of coaching," Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. "Of course, I want him to stay. You look at our record, you look at how players have grown over the years, through all our ups and downs, you gotta give him a lot of pats on the back for that."
Gibson, one of the most honest athletes around, was asked what he thinks will happen.
"I don't know. I just have to wait and see," he said. "I'm just like you guys on the outside. You never know."
When Rose was confronted with the subject, he first feigned ignorance.
"What you mean by that?" he said. "I don't know anything."
Rose then went on to talk about how his "bond" with Thibodeau grew the past summer as Thibodeau helped coach him on Team USA at the World Championships.
"If it's a feud or whatever, whatever's going on, I just hope that they fix it," Rose said. "I love him as a coach."
Rose gave Thibodeau, who has always backed him through his injuries, his support.
"The decision is not my decision," he said. "If it was up to me, he'll be back."
But it's never the players' decision in situations such as this. How the Bulls played Thursday surely didn't help, but you can't pin this loss, or any of the Bulls' playoff defeats, all on coaching.
"When you have times you go six minutes without scoring, it's bigger than a coach," Rose said. "It's all about the players."
Management apologists will say Thibodeau didn't use players such as Nikola Mirotic and Tony Snell enough, let alone the buried Doug McDermott. Thibodeau fans will say the Bulls' defense suffered this season because he didn't have the right players to execute his scheme, particularly with Noah working his way back after offseason knee surgery.
But it is about the players. As much as Thibodeau has changed the culture of the team since replacing Vinny Del Negro in 2010, it's always about the players.
David Blatt didn't lead the Cavs to victory. James did.
While Thibodeau earned plaudits for getting the Bulls to play hard in Rose's absence -- a Game 7 win in Brooklyn in the 2012 postseason stands out -- you only go as far as your stars.
Noah, the previous season's Defensive Player of the Year, wasn't as mobile, and his offense was atrocious in the playoffs.
Rose had an impressive return to the playoffs after playing one postseason game in the past three seasons. But he had a poor second half Thursday and a bad final two games, with a shoulder stinger hampering him in Game 5.
In Thursday's second half, Rose went 1-for-4 from the field and scored two points with Dellavedova guarding him and the Cavs struggling to score.
The Bulls needed much more to stay alive.
The most recent time James eliminated Rose in a playoff series, it was the 2011 Eastern Conference finals. We figured Rose and Thibodeau would have a few more cracks at James and the Miami Heat, but Rose's body had other plans.
Rose played 51 regular-season games this season, missing 20 straight after a surprise meniscectomy on his right knee. Rose came back at the end of the season and started all 12 playoff games, averaging 20.3 points and 6.5 assists in 38 minutes.
After a dream start to his career, Rose now knows nothing is certain in life.
"I always look at it as me stepping on the floor and just me walking off the floor as a positive," Rose said. "I'm just happy with how my body responded when I came back. I'm happy with everything I learned this year, everything I went through individually, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. I'm good. I'm at peace with myself. Of course, I'm mad we lost this game and we're out the playoffs, but it gave me a chance to really go into the summer with a game plan."
In his first healthy summer since 2011, Rose said he would work harder than ever to improve himself. Whether Thibodeau is his coach next fall is not up to him. But the core of the team probably will be back, including Jimmy Butler, who will get a big payday this summer.
Rose's Bulls team has more runs left in it.
"A team like this, it's just all about growing together, having your ups and downs," he said. "This is definitely a down right now, but it's all about just getting through it. I know we'll bring it here one day."
"It" is a championship. Both Rose and Thibodeau certainly worked hard enough to bring one to Chicago, but thanks to bad fortune, neither was able to make it happen.
If Thibodeau isn't back next season, maybe the next guy will have better luck.
