Re: Was it Flip's fault? Do you think the game 6 loss at Miami was Flip Saunder's fault?None of the players really seemed to like him judging by this quote <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Ben Wallace, Antonio McDyess and Rasheed Wallace have taken turns questioning their coach. Sources say management hasn't been thrilled with Pistons coach Flip Saunders far longer than lately.-- New York Post</div> Was the fall of the Pistons all Flip's fault or the players for not playing well?
Re: Was it Flip's fault? <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Heatfan32 @ Jun 2 2006, 10:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Do you think the game 6 loss at Miami was Flip Saunder's fault?None of the players really seemed to like him judging by this quote Was the fall of the Pistons all Flip's fault or the players for not playing well?</div>i think both
Re: Was it Flip's fault? Obviously, every player on that team and every member of that coaching staff played a part in them losing the series, but I will say that yes Flip deserves a lot of the blame.People expected this team to win a championship, but Flip has never been a great postseason coach, and this was inevitable. He wasn't a defensive-minded coach like Larry Brown was, rather he stressed offense, and I think in a sense he allowed the players to start slacking off a little on the defensive end of the floor. They are/were still capable of playing defense like they did under Brown, but when Brown was coaching they played defense like that for 48 minutes a night. Under Flip, they didn't do that.Bottom line is that something will change in Detroit, and it will be interesting to see what Joe Dumars does during the offseason.
Re: Was it Flip's fault? How can you blame this on Flip? Take tonight for example. The coach doesn't take the wide-open shots. You have to hit your shots to be effective, which we haven't done for about two series now. We went cold.
Re: Was it Flip's fault? Both the players and coaches, you can't put most of it on Flip. These players have been stressed to play defense the past few years and are you telling me because Flip came in, that they couldn't revert back to playing defense? They seemed fine in the regular season as well. So blame should go to the players, especially the ones who have been there. They had tantrums, made remarks to the media you shouldn't during a playoff run, played lackdasical, you can't put that on Flip. I look at Flip as the substitute teacher to Brown, and the guys basically ran over him like students do to a substitute. Flip does deserve blame because he wasn't strict and focused on offense over defense but no way does he deserve all of it.
Re: Was it Flip's fault? The Players for not scoring the basketball. Rip missed wide open 3 pointers that game..etc..everyone just isnt scoring the ball.
Re: Was it Flip's fault? Detroit's game relies on their shooters. They weren't getting it done, also they really didn' t have anybody to put a body on shaq. McDyess? nope, Wallace? nope. Sheed didn't have his shot going and Rip shot 37% from the field that entire series. The shooters weren't doing well and Detroit suffered big time from it.
Re: Was it Flip's fault? Disapointing year for the Pistons, Flip also failed to make the NBA finals with Minnesota back in '04 when the Lakers beat them in the WCF. Detroit didnt show the defensive intensity they had the years before, Larry Brown, getting a lot of hate in NYC, stressed DEFENSE while coaching Detroit. Flip made them a better offensive team, but the Pistons started to think about scoring so much they forgot about defense. Hell, they almost lost to the Cavs in 7 games in the 2nd round. It seems like they didnt even care imo.
Re: Was it Flip's fault? Did Flip make the pistons miss open shots? I don't think so.Flip stressed ball movement, that didn't happen in game 6 and that is why they lost/
Re: Was it Flip's fault? If anyone here thought for themselves and played organized basketball once in awhile, you'll know it wasn't Flip's fault. You people take everything the media says as gold, and in this case, it's sadThe Pistons have had this core group for 3 years now. Now, tell me how it's Flip's fault they weren't playing defense?Was he telling them not to play defense?OK, so he wasn't stressing it as much in the Playoffs. You know what? The Pistons had a franchise high in wins this year because they were a more offensive squad. The reason they won more games was because Flip Saunders told them to get out in transition. This resulted in more scoring. That's why they won.Suddenly, the playoffs come, and everyone expects Flip to come out and say: Alright, don't focus on scoring, focus on defenseWell "No sh*t Sherlock!"Of course he told the Pistons to play defense, but it's not like he's going to change a team philosophy up from something that won them 60+ games. Was Flip playing? Was he the one getting blown by every time?How about game 6. There was a stretch where offense was actually the problem, not defense. There was a stretch in the 2nd Quarter I believe where the Pistons missed 5 straight open shots. Is that Flips fault as well?Bottom line: Players playIf you play organized basketball, you should know that no matter what your coach tells you to do, it's up to you and your effort to get it doneSome of you guys act like you've never played basketball in your life, because you are always talking about "Offense Sets" "Systems" "Coaching" "Defensive Strategies" Yade-Yade-Yada....The Pistons didn't put up the effortThe Pistons missed open shotsThe Pistons plain old sucked, and while Flip made some questionable moves, when your team misses open shots, players get beat one on one, how is that his fault?
