this was probably the worst-coached game i've ever seen by flip, and that's saying something. i normally don't get upset over regular season games or losses, but my goodness, this was atrocious...flat out terrible. this game was lost by 2 people - flip saunders and rip hamilton. i'll go to the coaching last and talk about the players first...

rip hamilton - GET OFF THE FLOOR. yeah, i know you scored 32 last night, i don't care. not only did you miss THREE bunnies, you took 20 shots and missed 15!!!! every other starter shot 50% but you were determined to keep driving the lane where you not only didn't finish, but made it difficult to get back on defense and left us at 4-on-5. it was 38-32 and you missed a layup that would've made it 40-32, then the guy you're supposed to be guarding comes down and scores to make it 38-34, a crucial 4-point swing that let the blazers right back into it.

afflalo - good use of your 5 minutes, playing excellent defense as always. you should've gotten a lot more time.

maxiell - awesome game...when flip let you play. 5 boards in only 14 minutes, 2/3 shooting, 2 blocks, no fouls, and no turnovers. wait, why only 14 minutes?!?!?!?

chauncey - no complaints about chauncey this year. played an excellent game, made tough shots, gutted it out while banged up, got a couple steals, 9 assists, 1 turnover, and made over 50% of his shots.

tay - average game, would've rather had you take 30 shots than 15, but it was kind of hard with rip doing his best flip-murray-ballhogging impression. but then toward the end of the game you routinely were too low on the block to get offensive rebounds and got bullied out of the way.

sheed - continues to be our best player every night. looked to be standing up a couple times on D and not going after guys in the paint, but that's because they were getting into the lane with too much ease and sheed was frustrated that no one else could check their man.

dice, flip murray - not your best. sure you shot okay, but neither contributed defensively or with smart plays. at least flip only took one bad shot (a jumper) and was able to change the pace a little bit.

nazr - didn't get enough time to determine.

hayes - plays well when not taking quick jumpers...much better at spot-up shooting and posting up. not a terrible game but not super great either.

now the coaching...by far the worst i've seen by flip in the regular season. how do you not make any in-game adjustments, or any half-time adjustments?? by the time you tried a zone D it was too late, and then you abandoned it after one made shot by portland. you don't try a pressuring defense until 3 minutes to go in the 4th quarter (which produced 2 quick turnovers), when your traditional defense was broken all game?? portland is a young team that will make mistakes, but you let the guys play soft D instead of applying pressure, and as a result portland was content with hitting jumper after jumper. do you not know how to defend a high pick-and-roll? portland shot 55 f'ing percent!!

how can you justify keeping rip hamilton in for 40 minutes when he's making bad play after bad play? yank him out of the game!! did you not see what was going on out there? take away rip and the rest of the team shot 50% !!!!

by far the most egregious bad judgment was at the end of the game, and the lineup of sheed/tay/hayes/rip/chauncey. we played good defense with that unit but there wasn't anyone there to rebound!! what, just because dice is out you can't let max play in crunch time? i counted 3 or 4 boards max would've pulled down, but instead we've got small forwards trying to snag rebounds over power forwards and centers. seriously how do you go with that lineup for the last 6 minutes and 40 seconds? i can understand pulling flip murray at that point, because not only did he miss a long jumper, but he let sergio (wtf) rodriguez drain a 3 and make it a 4-point game. but max should've been in those last 6 minutes.

pair maxiell with sheed, chauncey, tay, and hayes for those last 6 minutes and you come out with a W. instead of tay playing power forward, he gets his normal position and can work on guarding outlaw, while hayes plays shooting guard, which gives you the ability to post him up and have another rebounder and 3-point threat.

and what the heck is with the scared rotation changes? any time the game is close flip is afraid to take out the starters. this game was back-and-forth...oh no, better not take the starters out in the 3rd quarter!! the bench might *gasp* mess up! </sarcasm>

there were a lot of home-town calls that went portland's way, but this is a game detroit never should have lost. unfortunately you could tell from the 2nd quarter on that they'd either lose this game or have to win in the last minute.

just terrible all around. two thumbs down to rip and flip today.