Saunders Prefers Aggressive Offense

Detroit News

AUBURN HILLS -- It's remarkable how one man's pet peeve can be another man's tactic.

Last season, coach Larry Brown spent considerable time reprimanding the Pistons for breaking off set plays. He didn't want his players to free-lance until they executed the entire play and exhausted every option.

One had only to watch the Pistons' exhibition opener against the Bulls on Tuesday to understand that things are going to be much different under coach Flip Saunders.

The Pistons rarely let a play run all the way through before they attacked the basket. And they did so with Saunders' blessing.

"I want them to be aggressive," Saunders said. "If a defense takes something away, they have to have the freedom to attack."

Attack they did. They shot 44 percent, despite numerous missed open shots. They had 27 assists (the team averaged 21.8 last season). They got scoring from all positions and from all areas of the court.

Yet, the Pistons rarely ran a play all the way through to its fourth or fifth option.

"We got what we wanted," Chauncey Billups said. "We are learning a lot of new sets and we aren't quite where we want to be in terms of execution. But every time we ran a play, whether we ran it all the way through or not, we got what we wanted."

That is all Saunders asks for.

"We got a ton of wide open shots," he said. "You look at the film. We executed and got open looks.

"The plays that were broken off, a lot of times, were because of what the defense did. The way we run our offense, it should be un-guardable. Whatever the defense gives you, you should be able to take."

Floor balance was another key concept of Brown's offensive system. It was imperative to him that when shots went up, at least one guard was back and at least two big men were at the basket. Thus, quick shots and broken plays were often taboo.

Saunders' system doesn't seem to worry as much about that.

"You saw the movement in the first game," said Tayshaun Prince. "The bigs (frontcourt players) can be out on the perimeter as much as the guards.

"It's all about different movement coming from different areas. Any of the five guys can make plays."

Here's something else that was different. Forwards Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace took 21 of the starting unit's 37 shots. Billups took two shots and Richard Hamilton eight.

"Every set we have rolls over into first, second, third, fourth options," Saunders said. "Part of it (on Tuesday) was that guys were getting open shots off the first or second option."

Which were, in most cases, opportunities for the frontcourt players. That won't always be the case, obviously, but Saunders has yet to install sets that feature his high scoring backcourt.

"We will eventually," Saunders said, laughing. "I figure those guys will always figure out a way to get their points."

Saunders actually wouldn't mind if Billups or Hamilton wound up as the fourth or fifth option.

"When you get to your last option, you have run your offense through and the ball has changed sides and you've moved the defense over," he said.

"The shot clock is winding down, and that's when you want the ball in one of your better guy's hands, a guy who can make a play."

Source