FLIP SAUNDERS FIRED BY PISTONS

[Glenn]

Prior to last night, I was thinking he was a lock to be back next year, but after that pathetic rebounding performance and if they get boo'd off the Palace floor after getting eliminated, why would Joe wait and bring him back as a lame duck?

We'll be stuck with Coach Michael Curry either way I think, either next year or the year after that, when Flip's contract is off the books.

[Black Dynamite]

I honestly dont care myself. Maybe i'm starting to care less about basketball, but i dont care if he's here or not. In fact i reserve my judgement until the results of this series are finally in.

[Cross]

would curry make a difference? wouuld he imprint REBOUND into everyone's heads? what we need is a tweak in our team mentality, we need a winners mentality..the one that doesnt think losing one game on the roads fine, being down 2-0 is okay because weve pulled through before(against worst teams.) however our teams been through alot of success as it is so...

sheeds my favorite piston, top 5 in the league right now, but I think he's gotta go, only because we know Dice isnt going to

[geerussell]

Is Avery Johnson still job hunting?

[Big Swami]

I'm going to go out on a limb here.

I think the current Detroit Pistons team is done. Completely. No matter how they perform this year, even if they somehow manage to take home a championship, this is the end of the road for this team as the perennial playoff contenders they've been for the last 6 years or so.

I think Joe's biggest mistake was not the one where he went up to his neck with Darko. His biggest mistake was re-upping Chauncey with a fat-ass contract.

People like to say that the Pistons live or die on whether or not Sheed showed up to play, but I think we all realize that's not the case. Truthfully, Sheed's attitude has never been in question, despite all the hype about him. The real key factor here is and always has been Chauncey's lackadaisical attitude toward everything and how that attitude shapes the team. Are you winning? "No big deal." Are you losing? "No big deal."

I can assure you that, with all of the other problems the Celtics have (and they have plenty), they also have Kevin Garnett. I have watched KG for a long time, and can tell you that Kevin Garnett does not have the same attitude as Chauncey Billups. He's a lot like Chauncey in many regards - he's the prime mover of the team, the person who's really in a position to shape how his team plays the game. The difference is that KG does care if he's losing and is going to shift into gear to take care of business when he's called on to do it. Chauncey is going to smile, nod his head, agree with the coach fully, and then go ahead and do whatever he feels like doing anyway.

I know as well as the rest of you that Stuckey isn't the PG Moses who's going to lead this team to the promised land. With Chauncey's half-dead ass firmly in place for a few years, this team can't even afford a map, let alone a sherpa. There's no way that this team moves forward without continuing to build around him. Names we've all come to know will have to go away or retire, but Chauncey will stay, and that's going to make the inevitable retooling take so much longer and be so much more painful when it finally happens.

I'm probably going to be labeled as a Chauncey-hater, but whatever. You could call me stupid if I said he didn't have enormous talent. But if you put all your money on a guy who insists on doing everything completely unconsciously, you're putting your money on a guy who honestly does not know why some of the things he does win games and why other things don't. Joe has given up science for trial-and-error, and as Chauncey ages, the effects of the errors are going to become disastrous.

/end rant

[gusman]

good post swami

[WTFchris]

Yes, he should be. Flip may have done a lot of good things here, but our offesnsive execution has always been terrible down the stretch. He's horrible in late game situations. How can we have the game close and keep chucking contested threes with the shot clock winding down? Have you ever thought about posting Sheed in that situation? What about posting Billups? At least he'd draw a foul instead of trying to create contact behind the arc (just because that worked once doesn't make it a good plan). And why wait until you are down 15 in the 4th to bust out the press? mix it in at other times.

We've been bailed out a lot by Billups hitting a key three down the stretch, but that has little to do with an offensive plan IMO.

[WTFchris]

And if Billups doesn't run the plays Flip calls, you bench him (in the regular season to send the message). IMO it's Flip's fault if the offense is being run poorly. Quit being a panty waste and stand up to the players.

[Glenn]

It's odd that the national media (ESPN, at least) have actually been praising Flip on his coaching in the playoffs.

Maybe they don't WANT us to fire him?

[Big Swami]

And if Billups doesn't run the plays Flip calls, you bench him (in the regular season to send the message). IMO it's Flip's fault if the offense is being run poorly. Quit being a panty waste and stand up to the players.

If Flip goes up against Chauncey, Chauncey wins. Simple as that.