| Flipped Out Authored by Curtis A. Clark - May 17, 2006 - 11:43 pm
Coaches don’t win and lose games, players do. That being said coaches put players in position to make winning plays. Detroit Pistons coach Flip Saunders has not done that in the last 3 games of the Cleveland Detroit series.
Unable or unwilling to make playoff caliber adjustments, Saunders has watched as young head coach Mike Brown of the Cleveland Cavaliers has stymied Detroit’s pick and rolls and played successful small ball to counter Detroit perimeter oriented flex offense.
Saunders, known for his offensive flex system, is accustomed to inserting his offense with its multiple scoring options on each play, and changing little from there. The idea, if you try to take something away from one part of the flex the team shifts to another option on the same play and beats you there.
The Problem? In the regular season Detroit has developed tendencies and patterns within the flex. You cannot stand by and run the same sets in the playoffs and not put pressure on the adjustments the opposition will make.
For example the pick and roll. Cleveland bigs are simply switching out on Hamilton and Billups off the screen. With the Pistons lacking a post presence, to the tune of last in the league in points in the paint, the Pistons are settling for jump shots off of mismatches. The guards are not penetrating an the bigs are not posting smaller players.
Cleveland has not been known as even an above average defensive team. But this simple adjustment, one that teams may have tried in the regular season, but was not as apparent in its effectiveness because it was not over a series of games, has suddenly locked Detroit down.
Couple Mike Brown’s adjustments with Cleveland’s stellar play on the glass and the you can win a playoff series on the back of one offensive player. In fact James is doubly effective in this sense because he is not involved in most of these adjustments. He merely plays solid man defense and does what Detroit cannot on the other end. He beats players one on one.
Detroit has not shown the ability to consistently score in one on one situations against Cleveland. Dashes of effectiveness show up here and there, but not continually. One on one opportunities, with mismatches, are what Detroit has been given. Usually teams play to create these, Detroit however is so counter to the one on one mentality that they are unaccustomed to playing entire games with them scaring them in the face. The Piston’s reliance on offensive execution rather than one on one break downs has actually hurt them of off pick and roll switches. The adjustment was a huge gamble for the Cavs, but down 2-0 they could risk it. What has resulted has been huge gamble, huge gain.
In a sense a team prided on its team game and unselfishness, needs to start thinking about their own opportunities rather then the team. Billups showed an understanding of this in the 3rd quarter of game 5, but was shortly taken out by Flip’s substitution pattern. Another mistake by the coach, he didn’t ride the hot hand in a game where points were hard to come by.
In fact Saunders, who has only ever been out of round 1 one other time in his career, has been highly criticized for his playoff coaching abilities. What is being shown is that the criticism stems from his inability to make adjustments, the true test of a great coach.
Detroit’s regular season record is a product of Flips offensive system and lingering defensive principles from the last regime. What has carried over to the playoffs is a heavy reliance on outside jumpers, the easy opportunities provided by the flex system, and a overall shift in team focus to their offensive production rather than defense.
If Detroit is to win in game 6 in Cleveland they will need to figure out a way to take advantage of the adjustments make by Mike Brown. Pistons fans can say what they want about Larry Brown, this writer will be the first to admit he has, but Larry’s value was in his ability to adjust. The Pistons may never have had the chance to win 60 games under Brown, but they were far more equipped to handle playoff basketball.
If you take Detroit’s attempts at game winning shots over the season you will notice a pattern of highly contested shots and even failure to get a game wining attempt off, which was the case in 2 of the 5 games in this series. Under Larry Brown the Pistons always ran spectacular plays from timeouts and in game winning situations. Brown would simple draw up a play that would give the players a good attempt based off of the adjustments and tendencies he had seen his opponents make throughout the game.
In Game 5, Hamilton was ran into the corner in three point territory, a play someone like Rasheed Wallace could make by turning and shooting immediately with his high release. Hamilton however is not accustomed to fading out of bounce away from the hoop to get off a shot that he normally shoots set. Hamilton though was instructed he would have time, 1.9 seconds, to catch and dribble. This play was flawed because Hamilton has boxed in when he caught the ball and looked to create contact himself. If the ball would have gone to Rasheed, who flared to the top of the key, he would have at least had room to work with or get an attempt off. Saunders however went with the highly predictable double screen to the corner. He should have recognized that Cleveland was switching all screens, as they has been all game, and that they were going to double who ever caught the ball immediately because there was no time to pass. Flip should have ran a play that would have gotten them a catch and shoot opportunity, at least that way they would have gotten a contested shot off rather than a trapped player with no where to go and two men to shoot over.
So far Saunders playoff coaching should scares Pistons fans, after the honeymoon that was the regular season, he may be proving why he was let go in Minnesota. Detroit’s players may have to take it upon themselves to make the adjustments necessary if Flip can‘t pick up his coaching. But even if Detroit can make it to a Miami series, which looks doubtful, Pat Riley looms and the real mismatch will be on the bench.
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