If The Pistons Manage To Lose This Series...

[dd24]

I say fire Flip. If he can't manage to get this team motivated to beat Philly he shouldn't be there. Under no circumstance should Detroit be losing in the first round, I don't care which team in the playoffs they are up against. I can only hope they manage to somehow win the series but we all know that over 75% of the teams that win game 3 win the series and Philly has home court advantage at this point. I'm really tired of watching the Pistons at this point. When I turn the tv on I'm not sure if I'm going to get a team that is fired up like they should be or the team that seems to under achieve. Joe D needs to address this, I think the first step is Flip. I think he should go no matter what. The next step (and this is if they lose in the 1st round) is to pursue trades.

[Sonic R]

Originally Posted by dd24

I say fire Flip. If he can't manage to get this team motivated to beat Philly he shouldn't be there. Under no circumstance should Detroit be losing in the first round, I don't care which team in the playoffs they are up against. I can only hope they manage to somehow win the series but we all know that over 75% of the teams that win game 3 win the series and Philly has home court advantage at this point. I'm really tired of watching the Pistons at this point. When I turn the tv on I'm not sure if I'm going to get a team that is fired up like they should be or the team that seems to under achieve. Joe D needs to address this, I think the first step is Flip. I think he should go no matter what. The next step (and this is if they lose in the 1st round) is to pursue trades.

Flip Saunders is NOT a playoff coach…
All his years with the Timberwolves and Kevin Garnett, he was only able to win 2 series. This was in 2004 where they were able to realize the WCF… In 2 seasons with Detroit, these Pistons teams have failed in the ECF and at this point they will not get that far in 2008.

This team lacks discipline. All I can do now is see how the team performs these last 2 games. They literally quit after the first minutes of the 3rd quarter. They shouldn't even be in the playoffs with that attitude. This team will not win a championship. The fact that they laid down and gave up is not the foundation of winning. That 3rd quarter is the worst thing I have ever seen from this team in recent years. I weep for Tayshaun Prince. He was the only guy out their who didn't quit…

[dd24]

Good post, you're right he isn't. The Pistons are starting to remind me of the Phoenix Suns. They can put together a great regular season but come playoff time they choke.

[PacerRaptor]

Pistons do not choke in the playoffs, look at how many championships they already won. You guys have to think about it. 76er's are the hottest team in the East, they came together pretty late and are a hard team to beat. I think Pistons will pull through, but it wont be easy

[dd24]

Wrong, the Pistons do choke in the playoffs. Otherwise they would have been in the finals last year. They choked against a much less talented Cleveland team.

[Patrick27]

Originally Posted by dd24

Wrong, the Pistons do choke in the playoffs. Otherwise they would have been in the finals last year. They choked against a much less talented Cleveland team.

This is true, but you have to admit that Lebron was not going to be denied last year. He drove the ball hard, and the Pistons never adjusted. Also, some no-name players stepped up in that series (Gibson, etc). I consider that a rare occurrence and an exception, not the rule.

Flip may be losing the team, but motivation for this team must come from within. It was interesting to hear Chris Webber's comments yesterday about Dumars entering the locker room at halftime and threatening to trade them all. I'm not sure he meant that literally, but it showed me that Flip doesn't control the team's motivations, and he's not the one they rally behind. He should go, although I think he's a great coach and deserves to coach elsewhere.

I hope we're holding out for JVG. He's a good fit for us, I think. He'll stick up for his players and yell at them. It should work for 1-2 years while the vets are still there.

That being said, I'm really happy that the Pistons are getting challenged early in the playoffs. They've shown at spurts in this series that they can really turn up the gas and play well. That run between the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd was very refreshing, and I hope they remember to use that gear thoroughly against Orlando and Boston (if they all advance). Dwight could be this year's Lebron for Detroit, because he wants badly to beat us and prove that Orlando doesn't always lose to Detroit. Watch out for him.

[Sonic R]

Originally Posted by Patrick27

Flip may be losing the team, but motivation for this team must come from within. It was interesting to hear Chris Webber's comments yesterday about Dumars entering the locker room at halftime and threatening to trade them all. I'm not sure he meant that literally, but it showed me that Flip doesn't control the team's motivations, and he's not the one they rally behind. He should go, although I think he's a great coach and deserves to coach elsewhere.

I hope we're holding out for JVG. He's a good fit for us, I think. He'll stick up for his players and yell at them. It should work for 1-2 years while the vets are still there.

I watched the game on Channel 20 so I didn't hear Webber's comments until today when a colleague mentioned it to me. Flip does not have any control over this team and its too far gone for him. At this point, he has to be dismissed UNLESS he brings this team to the Finals and wins some games… Flip is a great REGULAR season coach no doubt, but has never proven anything in the playoffs… going back to the days and times of the Timberwolves. With this development of Dumars entering the locker room and making his comments, It has to be certain the Flip will be gone.

I am in agreement 100% with Patrick27 that JVG is the best fit for this team. The thing is Van Gundy will be the hottest free agent coach this summer. I imagine Phoenix will also be interested in him should they let D'antoni go.

[dd24]

I watched the entire game but didn't get to hear Webbers comments. That is very interesting. I almost made a post at halftime of the game yesterday. I was furious at the time. I'm glad I didn't now. It does show the team doesn't respond to Flip. He needs to go asap. I do like the Van Gundy suggestion. I think he could fit right in. I say fire Flip today and bring in JVG tomorrow. That's how much I don't like watching what Flip has done to the team.

[Patrick27]

Originally Posted by dd24

I watched the entire game but didn't get to hear Webbers comments. That is very interesting. I almost made a post at halftime of the game yesterday. I was furious at the time. I'm glad I didn't now. It does show the team doesn't respond to Flip. He needs to go asap. I do like the Van Gundy suggestion. I think he could fit right in. I say fire Flip today and bring in JVG tomorrow. That's how much I don't like watching what Flip has done to the team.

He made the comments on TNT's halftime show. If you watched the local broadcast, you wouldn't have seen it.

I usually like to hear Greg and George, but I specifically wanted to hear what Webber said, so I recorded the TNT version.