When would be the best time to fire Flip Saunders?

Rodman could defend all 5 positions, that is for sure. That dude was a freak on D.

I think.. (Oh, Hi there)

I think Flip's been a cancer on th is team since he was hired. When you take on a team that's coming off 2 straight Finals appearances, why would you want to change the formula, yet keep the talent?

I understand he wanted to make Detroit a more "offensive" team... but why? It's the same old quote, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"...

Why would you have Rip take more outside shots when his midrange jumper off the screen is money all day?? Why would you have Chauncey try to run the team himself? Why WOULDN'T you get Ben Wallace involved in your offensive strategy?? Obviously he's not an offensive presence but throw him an alley-oop every now and then.

We need a Bill Laimbeer, Phil Jackson kind of guy that the players will respect and look up to and listen when he talks. No one listens to this guy Flip because he's a joke. Biggest example was back in 2005 vs. the Heat. When it was crunch time, Pat Riley was pacing back and forth, yelling and screaming at his players getting them in position... Flip was crouched down in front of the bench with a "What do I do now?" look.

FIRE FLIP!

Good point about Cola. Front office people didn't like Cola so Davidson said goodbye. Everybody likes Flip (in the front office anyways).

I wish I could change my vote to tomorrow. He earned a good night sleep tonight.

We just beat the Celtics at their place. Our wins pace projects out to a 59 win season. We just beat a 20-2 team in their house. Celtics shot 50% and we shot 40%. Somebody is pulling a lot of rabbits out of this hat so far with statistics like that. How about "Coach of the Year"........

Blasphemy.

Here's my view of Phillip:

Phillip is a technician, an engineer. He sees a basketball team as a little robot. He puts some parts together, programs the robot, winds it up, and lets it do it's thing. He knows that, at least sometimes, you need to swap out some parts and do some routine maintenance. And when the robot fails to work, he knows you need to swap out the parts and/or change the program.

The problem is a basketball team isn't a robot, it's a bunch of people. I don't think Phillip's teams overachieved or underachieved. They just achieved. I firmly believe that we lost the last two years because we had worse talent. It was bad matchups. Phillip will keep the team from losing to an inferior team in a seven game series. Phillip will never help the team overcome matchup problems, or beat a superior opponent.

When Cola was here, it was his team. When LB was here, it was his team. Phillip doesn't put his stamp on a team. His Minnesota teams were KG's teams. His Detroit teams are a mix of Chauncey's team, Ben's team (not anymore), Sheed's team, Rip's team, and Tay's team. All of their characteristics are just pooled together. Because Phillip isn't a rah-rah motivator, he can't make the team break out of their bad habits.

You notice that Joe has finally learned (I think) how to deal with Phillip. To control Phillip's tinkering, he has removed options, taken away robot parts. He can't get through to him any other way. "You insist on playing Nazr over Amir? Fine, no more Nazr." He brought in Brezec for one reason, to play Shaq and Dwight Howard. If he gets used too much more, he'll be gone too. And why is this so critical? Because only if the bench is well developed will we be the deepest, most talented, and best team in the league, a situation where Phillip can finally get us to the finals.

And yet, let's be honest with ourselves. If Amir got 25 minutes of run last night, played well, but made a couple of critical mistakes and we lose by five, we would be all over Phillip. He's walking this incredibly thin tightrope. He needs to win 55+ games and do it by using his best parts just enough. Right now, I think he has the hardest job in the league, rivaled only by Skiles and Phil Jackson, who are expected to go to the Finals with seriously flawed teams.

None of the national media will mention that fact that we actually have a better record against the Eastern Conference than Boston does and that is even without Hot Rod.

Lets see what happens to the Celtics once they start playing Western Conference teams on the road.

Just when I reach a point of total frustration with the guy we go and do something like last night. I'm really liking this trapping help D we have been running lately. Also, it would be unfair to not credit Flipper with a lot of what we are seeing from AA & JMax.

I think I may be climbing back up onto the fence.

It was a nice gameplan yesterday.

Maybe it helped that he knew KG so well.

We're playing D and mixing it up on offense. Maxiell and Afflalo both contributed.

Our only remaining complaint in general is that he's not developing Amir.

Now he's got Stuckey to incorporate too.


Good luck Flip.

I don't CARE!!!!! The question with whether this team wins a championship will come down to mental toughness, and HEART!!!! I do believe that there is a strong correlation between those 2 attributes and the head coach. Teams often take on the identity of their coach and that is where I have a problem with the head coach of the Detroit Pistons being Flip Saunders. As far as X's & O's and getting wins in the regular season he is A-OK, but this team is a contender, and contenders are judged in the playoffs.

It's not even that I'm dissappointed by not winning a title in the last 2 years, it's the way we've played in those playoffs, the way we've lost. We failed to display mental toughness and heart. I can take losing when a team is just better, but.........uuggghhh.

We do have a veteran team with tons of energy from the new youth contingent. Maybe their will is strong enough that they don't need a coach to give them passion.

I just don't know anymore. I'm confused by the quality of that win.

Porter, Curry and Cowens were not exactly push overs in their playing days so that should help.

I almost hesitate to post this because it might seem like I actually can say something positive about the Celtics. However, keep in mind, the fact that I don't like them, doesn't mean that I haven't appreciated their great players and teams over the years.

HoopsHype - Articles - Cowens helped restore Celtics pride

This is Flip's third season with the team. He'll be better this season in the playoffs. He needed time to understand the complexities of managing this bunch of players. They have talent but have issues as a team. Remember that he couldn't come in and LB the team. The team had been there and done that and were not going for that type of coach again. He had to reinvent the team in his way. "The Switch" is but one issue he's had to deal with. Watching Garnett give him a hug after the game tells me all I need to know. I am giving him til February to see if he's incorporated the newbies into the team. According to this thread he has til August 2007............
What's up with that..........

Sorry, but I gave him until a week before he was hired. How many failed playoff runs does it take before your benefit of the doubt just becomes doubt?

I hear ya. This isn't the Lions though. They've had misery for 50 years and there are people who still believe in them and their coach. The Pistons recently won a champoinship and can do it again. If they win this season, then you owe me a bag of White Castles. If they lose, then I'll draft his termination letter.............

You're on!

A holiday season book for Flipper:

"How To Coach Young Players for Dummies".

Actually A. Bynum suggested giving this book to Jackson for the holidays.

With the maturity and perceptiveness of this group, I am waiting for someone to comment on how Flip out-coached Rivers (and will continue to do so).