# Your thoughts on Flip Saunders



## Brian. (Jul 11, 2002)

Well it looks like the next pistons coach will be Flip Saunders. What are your thoughts of him as a coach? Thanks


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

Well he is a good coach. He was simply our scapegoat when he got fired. He is a player's coach though. He participates in the little pregame rituals. I am not sure he is very good at keeping players under control though.


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## Cyberwolf (May 15, 2003)

Pros: Very strong basketball mind, he'll run lots of plays that result in open shots, generally seems to get a lot out of mediocre players, relates to players very well, they all love him.

Cons: Terrible in game decisions, fairly inflexible in the game plan once the ball goes up, and makes some questionable substitutions.. Sometimes it seemed, especially on back to back games, like the players weren't as well prepared as they should have been. Hard to say whether that is the coach's fault, or the players.

All in all, Larry Brown is a better coach, but it looks like he isn't an option, and of the people out there, I think Flip is probably the best, and will be a pretty good fit in Detroit where the players already know how to play defense. Hopefully he will keep the defensive system that is already in place, and just work on tweaking the offense. I got frustrated with him a lot, but he isn't a bad coach.


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## kaniffmn (Jul 29, 2003)

Saunders was the wrong guy to fire...it should've been McHale all the way. I wish he was still our coach and Detroit will get a heck of a coach to replace Larry Brown...especially with the options out there. Flip is definitely a player's coach. I'm sure Billups will be happy to be reunited. Saunders gets a blue collar team in Detroit, and I'm sure that will help with his coaching and decision making. I'd look for a better offensive game plan and more scoring for the pistons this year.


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## timberwolvefan (Jun 19, 2005)

As far as being a players coach he doesn't do much with the team on his off time. But the charisma and character Detroit has in its players they can maybe pull it out of him ....as a Pistons fans as well as timberwolves i'm excited and i think it would be a great deal if it goes through.


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## timberwolvefan (Jun 19, 2005)

i guess flip was hired for 4 years. here's the site:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2112721


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

I thought McHale was supposed to get something out of this?


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## Cyberwolf (May 15, 2003)

sheefo13 said:


> I thought McHale was supposed to get something out of this?


Well, we only have to play Flip about $1 million instead of $6... That's something, kinda...


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

Yeah... Only 1 million dollars. :eek8:


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## jokeaward (May 22, 2003)

Flip... he'll probably relish having Billups back. He needs his PG who can shoot and score, so he's got a good start.

He definitely won't have health, loyalty, fatigue, or other issues like if he wants to coach. He won't be the story, as some have said. Now as far as coaching he won't be as good. His X's and O's will probably be great to start the season, and there's no doubt he has them in his repertoire and can use them well. But since he isn't in the CBA or using so-so players heavily, things will wear out a little bit. Then the Pistons with all their talent and experience will sort of "just play" without heavy play-calling and things will pick up again.


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## kamego (Dec 29, 2003)

Thanks to everyone who give us Pistons fans some extra details we didn't have.


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

Seriously though he is no where near the coach Larry Brown is. I thought they should've went out and got a defensive minded head coach.. Like a Dwane Casey. THAT would've helped them out a lot more.


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## kamego (Dec 29, 2003)

sheefo13 said:


> Seriously though he is no where near the coach Larry Brown is. I thought they should've went out and got a defensive minded head coach.. Like a Dwane Casey. THAT would've helped them out a lot more.


Our defense is fine, we need to score points...


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

Well I have always thought you have to work with your strengths. You will be able to score, just sign a guy like Lee Nailon to add to that. But if you can improve your strengths, that is when a team is hard to beat.


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## kamego (Dec 29, 2003)

sheefo13 said:


> Well I have always thought you have to work with your strengths. You will be able to score, just sign a guy like Lee Nailon to add to that. But if you can improve your strengths, that is when a team is hard to beat.


Your greatest strength is always your greatest weekend. Detroit has a great defense but they get zero points out of it. Flip's running offense will be able to get points out of the defense if used right. Larry Brown cut back on his playbook because he didn't always trust some of his players. Hopefully Flip can open it up. I think it was a good hire for a team needing to score more.


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## kaniffmn (Jul 29, 2003)

sheefo13 said:


> Seriously though he is no where near the coach Larry Brown is. I thought they should've went out and got a defensive minded head coach.. Like a Dwane Casey. THAT would've helped them out a lot more.


Guy...I don't know if you noticed, but pretty much all the coaches worth taking, were off the books before Detroit hired Flip. They don't need a defensive coach...they already got the will and determination to play defense. They played great defense before Larry Brown was there. I think Flip might be a better offensive coach than Brown...Flip is a mastermind for designing plays and I'm sure they'll score more points. I'm not saying that Flip is a better coach, Brown is miles ahead of him. But I think it is the perfect situation for both parties. Detroit has a variety of players that Flip will work to get them plays for their strengths. I think Rasheed and Tayshun will benefit most from this hiring.


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